DHS Office of Inspector General Report on EB-5

The Inspector General has issued its report on the EB-5 program. It concludes that:

• Currently, USCIS cannot administer and manage t he EB 5 regional center program effectively.
• The legislation establishing the regional center program did not give USCIS the necessary authority to prevent fraud and national security threats that could harm the U.S., and it assigned responsibility to USCIS for a program with mission areas outside USCIS’ immigration mission.
• Also, regulations were not always enforced, and USCIS did not always enforce its own regulations and procedures established to assist with managing the regional center program.
• To improve upon the administration and management of the program, USCIS needs to revise the regulations governing the EB 5 regional center program. USCIS also needs to execute memoranda of understanding with other agencies.