Investing in an EB-5 regional center program can be an effective way to meet your visa requirements. However, it can be risky.
Unlike traditional direct investing, you typically hold only a limited partnership ownership interest in a project. This may limit your control and ability to sell your investment profitably.
Location
It is vital to choose an EB-5 regional center program that will be able to help you meet your job creation requirements. A well-run program will provide various benefits, including identifying the right project for your investment and helping you find ways to count indirect jobs. Unlike standard EB-5 investments, where only direct jobs count, regional center projects can include induced and indirect jobs and those created through business activity.
In addition, regional centers provide a more stable return on your investment than would be possible for a standalone project. This is because the regional center will manage the project, ensure it meets all USCIS requirements, and submit the necessary reports. This means that you can focus on other areas of your life and avoid the hassle of managing your own business.
It is also important to ensure that your chosen regional center is approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). You can check this by looking at their website for a list of currently approved regional centers. Alternatively, you can ask the regional center to provide you with a designation letter that the government has issued. This will prove that the USCIS has approved the project and is eligible for EB-5 funding.
Job Creation
One of the main reasons that high-net-worth individuals invest in regional center projects is the potential for job creation. Foreign investors can count direct and indirect jobs towards the required ten full-time jobs for the EB-5 green card by investing in a project affiliated with a regional center. This makes it much easier to meet USCIS’s job requirements.
Regional centers are pre-approved by the government to create jobs in specific geographic areas. These projects can be in various industries, including real estate developments, hospitality, and technology. Foreign investors can receive a conditional two-year green card by investing in a project sponsored by a regional center.
As part of their application to USCIS for regional center designation, regional centers must submit a job creation plan. This job creation plan should demonstrate how the projects associated with the regional center will promote economic growth and create jobs. The job creation plan should also include the types of jobs created and how they will be measured.
Indirect and induced jobs are often included in the job creation numbers for a regional center project because they are easier to track. However, it is important to note that a regional center cannot guarantee that its investments will create any specific number of jobs.
Managerial Fees
A regional center is an economic entity that promotes the growth of local economies through foreign capital investment and job creation. The entity can be a private business, partnership, corporation, or any other existing U.S. commercial enterprise that can demonstrate a direct relationship to the economy of the targeted employment area (TEA).
A reputable EB-5 regional center will not charge too much for its management fee. This fee may include the regional center’s different services, such as filing yearly reports on the money invested and jobs created and the administrative fees for using its auspices to invest in a project.
The managerial fees charged by a regional center can significantly affect the level of employment created. For this reason, they are finding a project that a reputable regional center backs is essential.
While some investors want to be actively involved in the day-to-day operations of their EB-5 investment, others have other commitments and prefer a passive role. A regional center can allow these investors to become a limited partner and receive regular updates about their investment performance without being involved in daily operations.
Accreditation
It is important to understand a regional center’s accreditation level as it can affect your immigration process. Specifically, the policies and procedures must include how the region will monitor new commercial enterprises and all associated job-creating entities for compliance with federal immigration, criminal, and securities laws, as well as state laws where any offering of investments or investment advice will be conducted or offered. Additionally, the policy must describe how the region will comply with the EB-5 program’s new rules and requirements outlined in RIA.
A reputable regional center should always provide any documentation that foreign investors request. They should also be willing to answer any questions that they have. In addition, they should have a history of successfully working with other foreign investors.
Finally, the regional center should have a proven track record of creating jobs. This includes direct, indirect, and induced jobs. Direct jobs appear on the company’s payroll. In contrast, indirect and induced jobs are created when people working on a project in a regional center spend their wages in the community, such as construction workers purchasing materials from local businesses. The EB-5 regional center program can be a great option for foreign investors who wish to pursue their dreams of becoming U.S. citizens.
