An EB-5 Regional Center is an entity that has been approved by the United States government to accept investments in the EB-5 Investment for Citizenship program from investors that want to use their investments to become United States citizens. The EB-5 Regional Center must be involved with the promotion of economic growth, job creation, an increase in domestic capital investment and improved regional productivity.
An EB-5 Regional Center earns the right to do business as a regional center by submitting an application to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In order to be approved do business and accept foreign investor capital the EB-5 regional center must state the geographical region within the United States that they intend to work within and the prospective regional center must show a plan for growth.
The prospective regional center must demonstrate that its business plan is a viable business model with reasonable and credible estimates. It must also be demonstrated that all assumptions for market conditions, project costs and timelines are reasonable. It must also be explained how jobs will be created. These jobs might be created directly through hiring or indirectly through economic activity that is a direct result of the program.
There are currently hundreds of EB-5 Regional Centers in the United States. Not all regional centers are the same, however. Also, it is important to realize that different regional centers have different philosophies and approaches the the management of client funds as well as managing a client’s citizenship.
It is not necessary to use a Regional Center to take advantage of the Immigration by Investment program. Some future citizens prefer to handle their investing themselves in order to have greater control over their finances and their citizenship. It is important that anyone that wants to invest for citizenship and become a United States citizen be aware of the various options and make a wise and informed choice.