In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the 1990 Immigration Act, which included a novel provision to attract foreign investment and create jobs in areas that most need them.  The EB-5 Visa program is a way for foreign investors to earn a green card if they invest in the economic development of a “targeted employment area” (TEA), defined by the program administrators, the US Dept. Of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as:

“…an area which, at the time of investment, is a rural area (not within either a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) (as designated by the Office of Management and Budget) or the outer boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more), OR an area within an MSA or the outer boundary of a city or town having a population of 20,000 or more which has experienced unemployment of at least 150% of the national average rate.”

EB-5 rules include stipulations that the non-resident investors must show that jobs have been created, are being worked by the legally employable, and that those jobs are not held by the investors nor the investor’s family members.

Green For Green

As a way of drumming up new sources of capital for commercial projects in targeted areas, the EB-5 program has been a qualified success with room to grow.  While Congress’s ideas about program adoption in 1990 turned out to be optimistic, the program has been the source of $1.5 billion in foreign investment over its life thus far. The USCIS says that as many as 10,000 such visas can be issued in a year, but the most issued in a year thus far has been 4,000.

While the program’s rules and regulations are currently being reviewed for simplifications, the basics will likely endure: investors under EB-5 must invest at least $500,000 in a high-unemployment area to qualify.

What And Where Are Regional Centers?

NAR’s Commercial Real Estate Advocacy Timeline mentions in August of last year that the Senate passed S. 3245, sponsored by Senators Leahy (D-VT) and Grassley (R-IA), reauthorizing the EB-5 regional center program for three years. EB-5 regional centers allow foreign investors channel investment funds into American businesses and developments.

Regional Centers, approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, identify  businesses and development opportunities that meet the community’s needs. In return for  investing and creating American jobs, these investors earn visas to live in the United States.
Regional Centers were created in 1992, but have existed as a pilot program since then. The  program was set to expire on September 30, 2012. NAR’s advocacy efforts will now turn to the  House, which still must consider the measure.

A full description of Regional Centers from USCIS can be found here.

A list of such projects nationally is of special interest to any commercial practitioner in management, development, brokerage or finance.  Since being of interest to such folks is what we’re here to do, enjoy the following table containing the names and locations of all 261 Regional Centers across the US.

EB-5 Regional Centers

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