With EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 visas plagued by issues like very tough qualifying requirements or processing times stretching into decades, the EB-5 visa is the simplest and fastest route to the US green card.
Within the EB-5 visa, less than one in 10 investors opt for the direct investment route. For the rest, investing in a new commercial enterprise through a Regional Center is the preferred option.
This is why the non-renewal of the Regional Center program in June 2021 brought the EB-5 visa program to a grinding halt. Renewal of the RC program in the 2022 EB5 Reform and Integrity Act revived investor interest and resulted in a surge in applications from HNIs across the world.
The RC program is very popular but has its own set of unique challenges.
Fulfilling Job Creation Requirements
The first and the biggest challenge with the RC program is the absence of direct link between the investment and the mandatory requirement of creation of 10 jobs in the US.
Under the direct route, the investor must invest $800,000 or $1.05 million, as applicable, and show proof of creating or maintaining at least 10 jobs.
Investors pool their money in the RC program, which means it is impossible to establish a direct link between an investor’s funds and the number of jobs the investment has created. This is why the program permits direct as well as indirect jobs to be considered.
This is done through use of reasonable economic methodologies to calculate indirect jobs. Obviously, a lot hinges on this point because any doubt or question about whether jobs were created or not will directly impact the investor’s chances of qualifying for a green card.
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Finding the Right Regional Center
There have been instances of bankruptcy or even fraudulent misuse of funds by Regional Centers. Further, not every state in the US has EB-5 Regional Centers. Industry sources indicate that only 23 states have active RC projects, which means more than half the states in the US may not have them.
Absence of updated official records about the number of active RCs in the country and their distribution across the states makes it even tougher for investors to make the right choice. One RC can operate in multiple states, which means identifying the overlaps and determining the exact number of RCs in a particular state becomes even tougher for investors.
Four out of every 10 Regional Centers don’t even have websites. Considering that RCs execute big development projects running to tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, this is a significant omission.
This means investors will have to compare and assess Regional Centers without, in some cases, even being able to access their websites and their choice will ultimately determine whether they and their families will qualify for the US green card or not.
This is why it is very important to seek advice and guidance from independent legal professionals specializing in investment immigration.
Industry experts can help you bypass issues like lack of verifiable information and verify the authenticity and credibility of Regional Centers before finalizing your EB-5 petition.