The EB-5 program allows people from foreign countries who want to invest in U.S. businesses, and who can do so in a way that will create jobs in the United States, to receive a visa to work in the country. It is a small program: The legislation that created it can allocate no more than 10,000 visas per year, a limit that is rarely even reached.

It is has proven to be quite successful at achieving precisely what it was designed to do: stimulate investment and create jobs at zero cost to the government.  But that is why its reauthorization is potentially fraught with problems.  Congress is contemplating tweaking the program in an attempt to bolster program integrity and, more controversially, direct more investment to low-income regions of the country.  It’s a move that’s not without risks: The pursuit of a more equitable geographic balance in job creation may result in a less effective program. Congress should be wary of making major changes to a program that’s working so well.