For the first time in four years, the EB‑5 industry has an up-to-date draft rulebook. The recently released policy document provides long-awaited guardrails but has also touched off a wave of anxiety, as it proposes a rule change that could threaten many projects in the works under the program.
Among the changes are restrictions on the use of bridge financing, a shift that could clamp down on the flow of investment dollars to the program.
Many investors in the program have historically placed a portion of their capital into bridge debt to qualify for an EB-5 visa, but under the new rules,…​