eb5exclusive

With Congress still ironing out the details of healthcare, jobs, and climate change legislation, it seems unlikely that lawmakers will take major action on a comprehensive and controversial immigration reform bill later this year.

For this reason, some measures, including Colorado Congressman Jared Polis’ proposal to expand the EB-5 visa program, may be removed from the larger bill and considered separately, the Denver Post reports.

Polis had proposed increasing the number of visas allocated to foreign entrepreneurs looking to start a business in the U.S., thereby creating more jobs.

While the current EB-5 visa program requires candidates to invest at least $500,000 in a U.S. firm, the Boulder Democrat’s plan calls for a $250,000 investment in a startup that would create at least 10 new jobs, or five new positions in a low-income area.

Outside of Colorado, a group of Silicon Valley investors supported the proposal to expand EB-5 investment opportunities in talks with representatives from the Commerce and State Departments.

The group is planning to use Twitter and other social media to assemble a list of entrepreneurs and investors whose efforts were thwarted by visa regulations, in order to show lawmakers how an expanded visa program could help create jobs in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported.