The Building Housing for the American Dream Act, introduced by Senator Ruben Gallego (AZ) to Congress on Dec. 4, could have a meaningful and practical expansion of the EB-5 visa program.
The bill’s purpose is to amend section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to spur an increase in the supply of housing, including low-income housing, in the United States.
“AIIA applauds this legislation, “said Ishaan Khanna, American Immigrant Investor Alliance (AIIA) president. AIIA worked with Senator Gallego to introduce the bill, providing technical assistance on the EB-5 program and facilitating discussions among stakeholders like attorneys, economists, and developers.“
“This legislation creates new incentives for EB-5 investments in affordable housing projects across the country,” he added. “By integrating the housing market with the EB-5 program, we believe that this bill will not only help Americans buy homes, but also increase EB-5 investor access to quality, in-demand projects.”
Immigration attorney Bernard Wolfsdorf from WR Immigration supports the initiative but stresses the need for bipartisan backing for it to advance in the legislative process.
“Tapping EB-5 for affordable housing is clever policy engineering,” he says. “Without GOP co-sponsors, this bill may have strong legs but no runway.”
What does the bill propose?
In practical terms, the bill broadens the existing EB-5 Infrastructure set-aside category to include affordable housing projects as an option within the lower $800,000 investment threshold, exclusive for developments located in a TEA. For projects elsewhere in the U.S., the investment minimum is $1.05 million.
This change would make federally supported affordable projects eligible for this EB-5 set-aside visa category, introduced by law in 2022, allowing them to raise EB-5 capital.
“Priority processing and reserved visas are a brilliant idea, but in a divided Congress, an EB-5 housing fix may be affordable only in theory,” Wolfsdorf cautions.
Qualifying projects would be tied to established federal housing programs, like Section 202 senior housing, the Housing Trust Fund (Section 1338), LIHTC (Section 42), CDBG, HOME, and specific renovation/infrastructure initiatives under the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act.
The draft also states that the Department of Homeland Security must consult with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on project eligibility and requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to report annually to Congress on visas and projects funded under the new housing provisions.
Additionally, the bill also maintains EB-5’s core requirements, including that investments remain “at risk,” create qualifying U.S. jobs, and meet USCIS standards.
Why does this matter for EB-5?
Creating a housing-focused set-aside in the EB-5 program at a lower investment threshold could attract new affordable housing sponsors and enable more high-demand, labor-intensive projects. Currently, EB-5 capital invested in real estate projects can finance affordable housing. However, most such developments are in metropolitan areas that don’t qualify as TEAs.
“In many areas, the high cost of living and inflation of property prices have prevented U.S. citizens from buying their first homes and renting quality apartments,” Khanna says.“The bill will help mobilize foreign capital for labor-intensive projects like housing development that simultaneously address the nation’s affordable housing shortage while supporting immigration policy objectives,” he concludes.
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