On September 28, 2012 President Obama signed SB 3245 into law, extending the expiration dates of four immigration programs administered by the Department of Homeland Security to September 30, 2015: the EB-5 Regional Center Program; the E-Verify Program; the Special Immigrant Non-Minister Religious Worker Program; and the Conrad State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Program. The bill passed both chambers of Congress with near unanimous approval; something highly unusual given the election campaign and the opposition that often arises involving anything having to do with immigration. For more about the importance of the Conrad State 30 J-1waiver program see the Healthcare Finance News recent article. Efforts continue in the Senate to pass The Conrad State 30 Improvement Act (S.1979), which seeks to permanently authorize the existing Conrad State 30 program as well as to make a number of changes to improve the program. A recent NY Times article about the EB-5 program can be found here.