U.S. Government Accountability Office study comes as EB-5 program up for review in Congress
By Eliot Brown | The Wall Street Journal
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The vast majority of investment in a federal immigration program meant to bring funds to rural and struggling urban areas is going to real estate developments that are typically located in economically robust neighborhoods, a study released Wednesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found.
The report, which looked at the EB-5 immigrant investor program over a three-month period last year, found that just 12% of investment went toward projects located in a census tract with an unemployment rate of at least 8%, even though those projects benefited from a provision earmarked for high-unemployment areas. A large chunk—36%—were for projects located in a census tract with an unemployment rate of 4% or lower.
