CFIUS’s Known Investor Program: A New Chapter in Foreign Investment Screening
Author: Anonymous
Introduction / Context
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) previously announced a “Known Investor Program” to streamline the U.S. foreign investment review process. Under the program, certain repeat, low-risk foreign investors may provide detailed information to CFIUS in advance of any specific deal. By collecting and assessing detailed information about a foreign investor in advance of receiving a formal filing, CFIUS intends to more efficiently review the transaction and conduct its risk-based analysis once the transaction is filed. Participation as a Known Investor may enable expedited CFIUS review and mitigate deal certainty risk related to CFIUS reviews.
The program is consistent with the Trump Administration’s “America First Investment Policy” (AFIP) announced in February 2025. The AFIP memorandum emphasizes two goals: maintaining the United States as an attractive destination for capital — especially from allies and partners — while limiting foreign adversaries’ ability to use investment to access sensitive technology, infrastructure, and data. AFIP explicitly called for an expedited “fast-track” review process, based on objective standards, for specified allied and partner investors, while also scrutinizing these investors’ entanglements with United States foreign adversaries. The Known Investor Program is Treasury’s practical attempt to build that “fast-track” concept into the CFIUS process.
Current Status: From Announcement to Pilot to Public Consultation
CFIUS first announced the Known Investor Program in May 2025. Treasury subsequently launched a “Known Investor Pilot Program,” enrolling a limited number of frequent filers from different countries. CFIUS asked these participants to complete a voluntary and confidential questionnaire that is more extensive than current filing requirements and to share suggestions for efficiency improvements.
As of February 2026, Treasury has not implemented a final program. Instead, it has announced and issued a formal “Request for Information” (RFI) to gather input on program design and other streamlining ideas, with written comments due by March 18, 2026. Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Investment Security, Chris Pilkerton, previewed this RFI process to CELIS Institute salon (the “CELIS Salon”) participants on January 13. In its “Request for Information Pertaining to the CFIUS Known Investor Program and Streamlining the Foreign Investment Review Process,” Treasury is seeking targeted input from a broad range of stakeholders on what information could help inform CFIUS prior to formal filings as well as other ways in which the U.S. foreign investment review process can be streamlined.
Proposed Known Investor Evaluation Parameters
Despite rising complexity and caseload, approximately 70% of covered transactions reviewed over the past five years were approved in the initial phase, and more than 90% were ultimately approved. The Known Investor Program attempts to streamline this process for frequent CFIUS filers, freeing up time and resources for higher-risk cases without compromising Treasury’s ability to mitigate national security risk.
From an investor perspective, Known Investor status may be a valuable tool for signaling lower regulatory clearance risk — and timing uncertainty — to sellers. This may be valuable when competing against U.S. bidders whose transactions are not subject to CFIUS jurisdiction, and certainly provides an advantage over other foreign bidders that are not designated as Known Investors. However, in the RFI, Treasury stresses that participation “would not guarantee a particular outcome” because transactions must still be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. After all, risk assessments are also, inter alia, impacted by the sensitivity of the target itself and the level of control acquired.
Specifically, the RFI emphasizes “verifiable distance and independence from foreign adversaries or threat actors” for both eligibility and ongoing assessment. Treasury’s proposed eligibility criteria illustrate how strict this vetting could become. For example, a qualifying investor would need at least three distinct covered transactions submitted to CFIUS in the past three years, expect another within the next 12 months, and not have made material misstatements or omissions to CFIUS or violated a material provision of a mitigation agreement with CFIUS in the previous five years. Entities (or their affiliates) identified on U.S. sanctions or restricted party lists are proposed to be excluded. There are also multiple proposed disqualifiers tied to “Adversary Countries,” defined in the RFI to include the People’s Republic of China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and potentially — but less likely after the removal of Nicolás Maduro — Venezuela. Employees, manufacturing, or research and development in these countries may also be disqualifiers.
The RFI also identifies other detailed information prospective participants would need to submit, expanding on CFIUS’s current requirements for filings. Categories are: Legal and Organizational Factors; Personnel and Process for Governing and Operating; Nature and Characteristics of the Known Investor Entities’ Business; Engagement With the U.S. Government and Compliance Posture; and Verifiable Distance from Adversary Countries.
Participation in the Known Investor Program will likely be limited to the most frequent filers. In addition to CFIUS’s qualitative screening in the above categories to assess an investor’s suitability, the RFI poses eligibility requirements including at least three CFIUS filings in the previous five years and the expectation to file again within 12 months of application. Even if participation is limited to a small number of investors, those that are accepted will enjoy the concrete benefits of more efficient post-filing review and the ability to signal trusted status to sellers.
Additionally, the Known Investor Program will have the beneficial effect of signaling the U.S. presidential administration’s priorities of bringing in foreign investment and streamlining the CFIUS process wherever possible. Through streamlining the process for Known Investors, CFIUS will also be able to prioritize resources on a broader set of more sensitive transactions that may require mitigation measures, enabling it to more effectively fulfil its national security mandate.
Conclusion
The RFI itself signals open questions: how often investors should update submissions; which questionnaire categories are most resource-intensive; and what concrete benefits CFIUS should provide to participants. This is an opportunity to shape the balance between disclosure burden, speed, and certainty.
Assistant Secretary Pilkerton has repeatedly signaled, including at the CELIS Salon, his encouragement of early and proactive engagement with CFIUS. The RFI not only provides Treasury with protection from legal challenges against the validity of the program but reinforces this message, along with Assistant Secretary Pilkerton’s priority of reducing friction in the CFIUS process. Without prospective participants’ buy-in with respect to both the costs and benefits of the Known Investor Program, they simply will not participate.
Near-term next steps are procedural but consequential: public comments are due March 18, 2026, and Treasury indicates the RFI may inform statutory and/or regulatory reform proposals. At the CELIS Salon, Secretary Pilkerton suggested the Known Investor Pilot Program would continue through 2026 as the program’s final contours come into view. The pilot and the RFI function as a test of whether advance information collection truly improves review timelines without weakening outcomes.
An external legal practitioner provided the following analysis and chose to remain anonymous. The CELIS Institute has reviewed the submission for factual consistency but does not adopt or endorse the views expressed.
