The Immigrant Investor Program, also known as “EB-5”, was created by Congress to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and enterprise. The EB-5 program is a source of funding for projects from immigrant investors motivated in part by access to permanent residency in the United States. The program is administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”). As part of the program, Congress permitted the U.S. immigration agency, (USCIS), to designate certain qualified applicants and areas as Regional Centers. A Regional Center is a private enterprise or a regional governmental agency with a targeted investment program within a defined geographic region. A USCIS approved Regional Center allows qualified foreign investors to invest in Unites States businesses and apply for a resident visa for the investor and their immediate family up to age 21.

The USCIS EB-5 program allows qualified immigrants to invest the requisite capital, obtained from a lawful source, into a qualifying new commercial enterprise that will create 10 or more new full time jobs, per each investor, in exchange for a temporary “green card” (permanent resident visa).