With just hours to spare in order to avoid a government shutdown, the House and Senate approved on December 21 a short-term continuing resolution (CR) funding federal activities through January 19. The CR was approved in the House in a 231-188 vote, and in the Senate by a vote of 66-32. With passage of the CR, Congress has departed for the holiday break and is set to return on January 3. The CR extends the current authorization for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program while congressional leadership and interested stakeholders continue to negotiate a long-term measure to reform and reauthorize the program. A long-term reauthorization is unlikely to move as a stand-alone bill and could be included in any spending measure approved in January. Another option for a legislative vehicle would be immigration reform legislation, which has been highlighted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as an opportunity for bipartisan cooperation in 2018.

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