The federal government has approved an investor visa petition tied to Kushner Companies’ long-delayed 1 Journal Square development in Jersey City, the company said in a press release, paving the way for more EB-5 funding to flow into the project, which has been under recent scrutiny for its labor practices and past criticism of touting the developers’ connections to President Donald Trump.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services this week approved the first EB-5 petition using a proprietary loan-based investment model created by the U.S. Immigration Fund. The fund raises capital from foreign nationals seeking U.S. permanent residency through real estate investments.
It comes amid uncertainties about EB-5’s future. Trump has floated scrapping the foreign investor visa program in favor of his $5 million “gold card,” which gives the wealthy a fast-track to residency. A preemptive unwinding of the EB-5 program before its 2027 expiration date, however, would require another act of Congress.
The approved petition, filed by an investor named Amitesh K., was for a stake in the nearly $1 billion 1 Journal Square project — two residential towers with over 1,700 units and retail space, developed by Kushner Company. The approval could mark an inflection point for Kushner’s fundraising efforts.
Under the EB-5 program, applicants have been able to receive green cards by investing at least $800,000 in a qualifying U.S. project that creates or preserves at least 10 full-time jobs.
USIF’s new structure allows EB-5 applicants to contribute as little as $500,000 upfront, financing the rest through a partner lender. The model aims to broaden access to residency-linked investment opportunities and attract capital from a wider pool of international investors. Trump’s proposed “gold card” program, meanwhile, would reportedly require a minimum investment of around $5 million.
Kushner Company — owned by the Kushner family, including Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — previously sought $150 million in construction financing from EB-5 investors at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Beijing in 2017.
Jared Kushner’s sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, at the time referenced her brother’s role at the White House as senior advisor and gave an investor presentation that included Trump’s photo. Kushner Company and USIF reportedly ceased searching for financing through the EB-5 visa program shortly after.
Kushner Companies’ CEO Laurent Morali said he doesn’t see “any issue whatsoever” with using EB-5 on “any of our projects.” The program was defined many years ago and is available to any qualified U.S. developer, he said.
Jared Kushner has not opted to return to a position at the White House in Trump’s second term. He’s instead been running private equity firm Affinity Partners, fueled by investments from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, though he has been occasionally advising Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, according to Reuters.
Morali maintained that the EB-5 financing was immaterial to the project, but that the infusion from investor Amitesh K. was not the only one.
“It’s actually a very, very small piece of our capital stack,” Morali said.
Kushner Companies secured a $210 million senior mortgage from Athene and Aris Mortgage Lending in July 2024 for phase two of 1 Journal Square, according to public records. That debt sits above a layer of financing that includes a small amount of EB-5 capital, which Morali confirmed was added to the project last year.
Chinese nationals have historically comprised the majority of EB-5 applicants, though recent visa policy shifts — including the revocation of some F-1 student visas — have added uncertainty to other immigration channels.
Kushner Companies has faced a series of setbacks on the 1 Journal Square project, including the loss of anchor tenant WeWork, the denial of a 30-year tax abatement and a lawsuit against Jersey City officials alleging political bias. Last week, the New Jersey Department of Labor issued stop-work orders to three contractors on the site over wage and classification violations.
USIF President Nicholas Mastroianni III called the approval a “powerful assurance” to global investors and a signal that the structure behind the investment meets federal standards.
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