Most of the EB-5 investments are pointed towards Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs): rural or high-unemployment communities that accept new capital investment intended to strengthen the vitality and economic viability of the community and region.
TEA Mapping Tool
The TEA Mapping Tool displays all the census tracts that will qualify as TEA across the country.
Distressed Urban Areas
According to the New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) criteria, “distressed urban area” means an area consisting of tracts or census tracts, each of which is a metropolitan statistical area and using the most recent five-year estimates of the American Community Survey, each of which has at least two of the following criteria –
- an unemployment rate of at least 150% of the national average
- the poverty of at least 20% or
- Median Family Income (MFI) not exceeding 80% or the greater statewide median family income or metropolitan area median family income;
The mapping tool helps visualize all census tracts that would be qualified as a distressed urban area based on the hypothetical definition using data from the U.S Census Bureau.
Opportunity Zones
As per the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, an opportunity zone is a population census tract that is an economically-distressed community in which new investments may be eligible for preferential tax treatment, but under certain conditions. A qualified opportunity zone is dominated by the state and the nomination has been certified by the Secretary of the U.S Treasury under the delegation of authority to the Internal Revenue Service section 1400z-1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
The mapping tool can visualize all of 7,826 census tracts across 50 states including the District of Columbia that has been appointed as a qualified opportunity zone under section 1400Z-1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
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