The EB-5 Regional Center is a business or public economic entity that stimulates the U.S. economy via foreign investments and job creation. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) designates regional centers. EB5 Regional Centers may take cash from immigrant investors. Regional centers were created by the U.S. Congress in 1992 with the purpose of boosting the U.S. economy through foreign investments.

The EB 5 investor visa lets overseas investors, their spouses, and their children under 21 years of age acquire permanent resident status through investment. The investor must commit a minimum amount of $800,000 to establish a new commercial enterprise. The new business must be located in a targeted employment area (TEA) and employ 10 qualified American citizens in full-time positions.

What is the EB-5 Regional Center?

A regional center (RC) is any business or public economic unit that promotes economic growth. In other words, an EB5 regional center is an organization that works towards the EB 5 program’s objectives of stimulating the U.S. economy through foreign investment and job creation. Therefore, it is eligible to accept funds from immigrant investors. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) designates regional centers. A regional center (RC) acts as a medium between the investor and EB5 Projects.

EB-5 Regional Center: Definition, History and List of Approved Regional Centers

What Is the History of EB-5 Regional Centers?

The U.S. Congress established the EB-5 Regional Center program in 1992. It was originally known as the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, which was created in 1990 by Congress. Its authorization was extended through 2015, and since then, the Regional Center Program has been repeatedly reauthorized for varying durations. Read more about i-924 petition.

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What is the EB-5 Regional Center Securities Compliance?

All EB5 regional centers and projects must conform to U.S. securities laws. The purpose of these laws is to protect the interests of investors from unethical or incompetent securities sales practices. Securities, as defined by the United States Securities Act of 1933, include stocks, notes, bonds, direct participation program investments, and investment contracts. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates securities and must be registered with the SEC. There are 4 EB 5 Regional Centers’ security compliance.

  1. Registering Securities. The process of registering securities is complicated, costly, time-consuming, and requires issuers to provide comprehensive disclosures to investors. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) imposes a strict timeline on EB-5 projects, making compliance with certain standards challenging due to the time commitment necessary. In addition to federal securities regulations, EB5 investments may be subject to state-level regulation, which can result in added expenses and delays.
  2. Regulation D Exemptions. Regulation D exempts EB 5 securities offerings through EB-5 regional centers from SEC registration, so registration is not required. The EB-5 regional centers provide a private placement offering and give each investor a private placement memorandum (PPM) containing the offering’s disclosures. Investors must generally be accredited for private offerings. They must have a net worth of more than $1,000,000 to qualify as accredited investors. On the other hand, a married investor with an income of more than $300,000 or a single investor with an income of more than $200,000 for the past two years will be considered an eligible investor. Each investor will be required to sign a document attesting that they meet the requirements to be classified as an accredited investor.
  3. Securities Laws and EB5 Solicitation. Regional centers and sponsored initiatives looking for EB 5 investors cannot usually solicit investments or advertise to be exempt under Regulation D. However, the SEC has not specified how the Regulation D ban on solicitation and advertising directly applies to EB-5 offerings. Advertisements are permitted if they do not reference specific investment information.
  4. Broker-Dealers and the EB-5 Program. Broker-dealers are defined in the 1934 Securities and Exchange Act as individuals, companies, or other organizations that trade securities. Broker-dealers are required by the SEC to be accredited by both the SEC and the relevant government securities regulators. The SEC may identify the entities involved as broker-dealers when third parties connect EB5 projects and investors or when EB 5 projects deal with investors. Such entities may consist of regional centers, advertisers, migration agents, advertisers, and others. An EB-5 Regional Center should engage the services of an immigration lawyer because security laws are complex and for proper documentation to ensure the success of an EB5 venture. EB5 BRICS is an approved EB-5 Visa Broker-Dealer.

What are the contributions of an EB-5 Regional Center to the U.S. economy?

The EB5 Program has contributed several billions of dollars to the U.S. economy per fiscal year. EB 5 Regional Center projects generated $11.2 billion in capital investment between FY2014 and FY2015. It represents 2% of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows to the United States between FY2014 and FY2015. In FY2014 and FY2015, the program’s capital investment and related spending contributed $33.6 billion to the U.S. economy. Between FY2014 and FY2015, the tax revenues earned by the program for the federal, state, and local governments totaled $4.2 billion. The $2.7 billion in federal tax revenue contributed by the program is equivalent to 634 percent of the total amount of appropriations made by the federal government for economic development programs through the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) between FY2014 and FY2015 at no cost to U.S. taxpayers.

What is the EB-5 Regional Center Program Reauthorization?

The EB 5 regional center program reauthorization refers to its being reauthorized (after it expired on June 30, 2021) under the 2022 EB5 Reform and Integrity Act. 

Here’s how the EB-5 regional center reauthorization works:

  • The regional center EB5 program will be extended for five-year periods afterward, with the effective date being 60 days after the law’s passage.
  • It safeguards investors against expirations of future EB 5 programs and is applicable to investors whose petitions were filed before September 30, 2026.
  • The minimum investment amount for investments in targeted employment areas (TEAs) is $800,000 and $1,050,000 in non-targeted employment areas.
  • The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now solely responsible for determining which areas qualify as TEAs.
  • The appropriations of EB-5 Visas have been modified with a 32% preference for particular projects within a fiscal year, as outlined below.
  1. 20% will be appropriated for rural development.
  2. 10% will be allocated to places with high unemployment.
  3. 2% will be reserved for infrastructure initiatives.

US investors can file Form I-829 (EB5 Application) and I-485 (Adjustment of Status petitions) even if the I-829 form has not been approved yet. 

  • USCIS can now adjudicate the previously filed Adjustment Applications and Petitions that were left pending.
  • Grandfather clause language has been incorporated to ensure that investors can move forward with their cases regardless of the expiration dates.

The EB 5 Regional Center reauthorization, which is through 2027, gives assurance and security to large numbers of immigrant investors who have relied on the program. Regional Centers for EB-5 need to register with USCIS using Form I-956 (Application for Regional Center Designation) and Form I-956G (Application for Regional Center Annual Statement) for compliance with the Reform and Integrity Act (RIA). Additionally, all persons who are directly or indirectly involved with an EB 5 Regional Center and hold substantive authority in making operational or managerial decisions such as board members, executives, general partners, administrators, and owners must file Form I-956H (Bona Fides of Persons Involved with Regional Center Program) with USCIS.

What is EB-5 regional center program renewal?

The EB5 regional center program renewal is the EB 5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. This bill modifies a number of essential aspects of the Regional Center Program, including: first, a five-year reauthorization period; second, a regulatory definition for targeted employment areas; third, an adjustment in the investment threshold amounts; fourth, a number of essential investor protections; and fifth, supplemental security and integrity measures.  

What is the EB-5 Regional Center Success Rate?

 The USCIS website provides up-to-date information on the approval and rejection rates for I-526 and I-829 petitions. In general, the acceptance percentage for I-526 petitions ranges between about 75% and 80%. It can be presumed that an applicant who obtains approval for the I-526 form will seek permanent residency status with conditions. Overall, the approval percentage for I-829 petitions exceeds 90 percent.

What are the Differences Between the EB-5 Regional Center and EB-5 Direct Investment?

The EB5 program has 2 investments for investors to choose, the EB 5 Regional Center and EB 5 Direct Investments. Although these 2 investments may seem similar, there are differences that every investor should know before making a final decision. The 3 main differences between an EB-5 Regional Center and EB-5 Direct Investment and their descriptions are listed below. 

  1. Job Creation Methodology

Direct Investment: All jobs counted toward the EB5 investment are salaried positions at the new commercial enterprise.  

Regional Center Investment: Jobs counted toward the EB 5 investment include both salaried staff and indirect employment coming from the project’s involvement in the local community. 

  1. Control over the Business

Direct Investment: Has only the investor as the sole owner of the business, or may have co-owners. The investor will be the main decision maker and influencer of the company, and will be heavily involved in the operations as well.

Regional Center Investment: Consists of a hundred investors, and the EB-5 investor is just one of them. The investor becomes a limited partner with minimal participation in the business operations. The investor has voting rights and gets the benefits awarded for being a limited partner.

  1. Return on Investment (ROI)

Direct Investment: Potentially offer higher rates of return.  There is more control, minimizing business failure or other difficulties.

Regional Center Investment:  Does not raise enough finance, the project may never get off the ground while the initial investors continue to incur costs. 

Does an immigration lawyer work with an EB-5 Regional Center?

 Yes, a regional center-affiliated Immigration Lawyer (Attorney) provides support to the regional center in producing the project documentation. These Visa Attorneys are needed by regional centers because the EB5 task is a highly specialized field of immigration law. Consequently, not all immigration attorneys can perform EB 5 tasks. 

 

What are the approved EB-5 Regional Centers?

As of July 4, 2021, the USCIS has 673 regional centers on its list. You can get a complete list of Regional Centers from USCIS. Here are a few USCIS-approved and operating EB-5 Regional Centers in the following U.S. states.

Alabama

  1. America’s Center for Foreign Investment (ACFI) Address: PO BOX 11032 Montgomery, AL 36111-0032
  2. BayPointe EB-5 Regional Center  Address: 1956-J University Blvd S Suite 139 Mobile, AL 36609
  3. Southeast EB5 Regional Center, LLC Alabama Address: 1325 Satellite Blvd NW Suite 1502 Suwanee, GA 30024

California

  1. 168 America Regional Center, LLC Address: 1211 Center CT DR 200 Covina 91724
  2. AAA California Regional Center, LLC (America Asia Alliance) Address: 1885 Lundy Ave. Suite 117, San Jose, CA, 95131
  3. Admiralty California Regional Center LLC Address: 111 N. Market Street, Suite 300, San Jose, CA 95113

Virginia

  1. Capital Area Regional Center (CARC) Address: 600 Cameron Street Alexandria, VA 2230
  2. Chesapeake Regional Center, LLC Address: 4437 Brookfield Corporate Dr STE 207, Chantilly, VA 20151
  3. CP Southern Regional Center Address: 3131 McKinney Avenue, Suite 475 Dallas TX 75204

Washington

  1. American Family Regional Center
  2. Cascadia Regional Center Address: 1835 Main Street Suite #101 Weston, Florida 33326
  3. Fairhaven Capital Advisors Regional Center Address: 325 118th Ave SE #101, Bellevue, WA 98005

Texas

  1. Alamo Equity Texas Regional Center One Address: 2030 N LOOP 1604 W STE 201 San Antonio TX 78248
  2. Brooks City-Base Regional Center Address: 3201 Sidney Brooks, San Antonio, TX 78235
  3. Greater Houston Regional Center, LLC Address: 1616 Voss Street, Suite 618, Houston, TX 77057

Utah

  1. Golden Lamp Regional Center, Inc. Address: 6720 Buena Vista Dr, Ogden, UT 84405
  2. Utah Regional Investment Fund, LLC Address: 1513 Technology Way, Building A, Suite 2100, Orem, Utah 84097
  3. Mountain States Center for Foreign Investment (MSC) Address: 515 South Palisade Dr Orem, UT 84097

Colorado

  1. American Lending Center Colorado Regional Center, LLC Address: 1 World Trade Center, Suite 1130, Long Beach, CA, 90831
  2. InvestAmerica EB-5 Address: 4100 East Mississippi Ave, Ste 500 Glendale, CO 80246
  3. KCI Capital Limited (former name FP Advisors, LLC) Address: One South Nevada Ave, Suite 200 Colorado Springs, CO 80903

New York

  1. George Washington Immigration Group, LLC Address: 135 East 57th Street FL#14 New York, NY 10022
  2. New York City Transportation Regional Center LLC Address: 99 Hudson St, New York, NY 10013, United States
  3. Manhattan Metropolitan Regional Center Address: 41-60 Main Street, Suite 207B, Flushing, New York, 11355

Florida

  1. American Builders Regional Center Address: 21 Se 1st Avenue Floor 10, Miami, FL 33131-1026
  2. American Opportunity Regional Center LLC Address: 6205 Blue Lagoon Dr #130, Miami, FL 33126
  3. Florida EB-5 Regional Center, LLC Address: 10800 Biscayne Boulevard #925, Suite 925 – Miami, Florida 33161

 Georgia

  1. American Investment and Immigration Center, LLC Address: 5950 Live Oak Pkwy Suite 320, Norcross, GA 30093
  2. Georgia Center for Foreign Investment and Development Address: 1075 Peachtree Walk NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
  3. Real Estate Development Center of America LLC Address: 209 Gordon Avenue, Calhoun, GA 30701

Hawaii

  1. Advantage America Hawaii Regional Center, LLC Address: 400 Tenafly Road, #1057 Tenafly, NJ 07670 Idaho
  2. Hawaiian Opportunities Regional Center, LLC Address: 1050 Bishop Street, Suite 530, Honolulu, HI 96813
  3. Golden Pacific Ventures Regional Center Address: 1390 Willow Pass Rd, Suite 192. Concord, CA 94520

Illinois

  1. Chicago Real Estate Development Regional Center, LLC Address: 9400 Falling Waters Dr E Willowbrook, Illinois, 60527
  2. Crossroads Investment Partners, LLC Address: 111 East Wacker Drive , Chicago, Illinois

Advantages of a Regional Center

The main benefit when investing via a Regional Center is related to the job creation. While investing through a Regional Center the USCIS gave the Regional Center to count the direct, indirect and induced jobs with the project whereas when investing in a NCE only direct jobs are counted for. When invested via a Regional Center, the investor is not involved in the day to day operation of the new commercial enterprise. The investor is usually a limited partner in the Limited liability company formed by the regional center. The RC’s form an LLC and every investor invests in the LLC to become a limited partner whereas the Regional Center acts as the general partner. Regional Center investment is beneficial for the people who are only looking to obtain an eb5 green card in the US for themselves and their families and cannot be involved in any business activities during this tenure. Another benefit of investing in a RC is the investor has the freedom to live, work or travel anywhere in the US and is not bound by the business that they invested in.

How the Regional Center plans to focus on a geographical region within the United States and promote economic growth in that region.

How, in verifiable detail (using economic models in some instances), jobs will be created directly or indirectly through capital investments made in accordance with the Regional Center’s business plan. The amount and source of capital committed to the Regional Center and the promotional efforts made and planned for the business project.

How the Regional Center will have a positive impact on the regional or national economy :

(1) No day-to-day management required,

(2) the benefit of “indirect employment creation” that aids an EB-5 investor in meeting the job-creation requirement, and

(3) the investor can live and work anywhere in the US.

An investment through the Regional Center program alleviates the burdensome job-creation requirement. The Regional Center program removes the 10 direct-employee requirements of the Traditional EB-5 Program, and substitutes a less-restrictive “indirect employment creation.” The investor satisfies the requirement by presenting evidence that the project will create 10 new jobs within the Regional Center economy as a result of the proposed project.

The role of an investor satisfies the management requirement imposed by federal regulations, while simultaneously permitting the EB-5 investor to make an EB-5 investment. As a limited partner, the investor has limited policy-making involvement, yet no business making or day-to-day management authority. Thus, for the vast majority of immigrant investors not interested in day-to-day or active management of a business, Regional Center programs offer the most attractive option. This form of business structure also protects the investor, as the investor is only liable to the extent of the eb5 investment amount.

Another advantage of the Regional Center program is the investor is not required to live in the place of investment. Rather, he or she can live wherever he/she wishes in the United States. For example, the investor may invest in a Regional Center in the State of Illinois, but choose to live in Florida. Under mandate by Congress, Regional Center EB-5 petitions are given priority often resulting in a quicker path to approval.

In order for a business entity to become a Regional Center, form I-924 needs to be filed with the USCIS stating the development of a capital investment project in a specific region of the country. It will also have to submit a potential business plan or an already on-going project and may seek an exemplar approval or pre-approval on the project.

There are numerous Regional Centers that are approved by the USCIS and the status of which can be checked at the USCIS website.

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