Must all regional center jobs be created in one area?

Direct jobs must be in the RC. For indirect jobs, it is less clear, but by definition, some will be outside the RC.

Regional center designations will have a geographic scope that is identified in the application and the designation letter USCIS issues. The investments must be made within that geographical scope. The job count will be based on an economic report and reasonable economic methodologies that may include some indirect and/or induced job creation outside of that scope. There are regional centers that cover a state or an area that includes two states; this can be done. You may also have multiple regional centers. There are a number of strategies for structuring regional centers and it is critical to have a good team to help you with the entire process from the beginning.

The jobs must fall within the geographical scope of your regional center designation. Since USCIS will not approve a country wide designation you would be restricted to the approved Targeted Employment Area (TEA). The TEA must be contiguous.

Generally, Regional Centers are geographically designated. Projects within a Regional Center must be located within Targeted Employment Areas to qualify for a reduced investment amount of $500,000. You should consult an immigration attorney with Regional Center setup experience.

No, not all regional center jobs need to be created in one area. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides a resource document in relation to the "EB-5 Immigrant Investor Pilot Program." The program was created by section 610 of Public Law 102-395. As long as you have a business entity that is the "regional center" and have other locations that still abide by the "regional center" guidelines, then you can have multiple locations with employees in each as long as you meet the 10 employee minimum. Further, you can have multiple locations in different urban areas throughout the country as long as they are all in relation to the one "regional center" (also known as Business Entity).

You cannot have a regional center covering the entire U.S. You will have to set up individual regional centers for the areas where the jobs (direct and/or indirect) will be created.

Yes, it can be a nationwide Regional Center. However, the job creation entity must be in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA).

A regional center is an area with higher unemployment than the rest of the country. So the whole U.S. cannot be deemed a regional center. The purpose of the visa is to create jobs in a troubled area. Creating jobs elsewhere does not accomplish that goal, so it will not work.

Regional Centers are by definition limited in territorial area. I am not aware of any regional center that covers the entire United States. These days, it is highly unlikely that USCIS would grant the rights to even one state. However, please note that all areas of a proposed Regional Center must be contiguous, but not necessarily within a state. A recent client just received approval for an area covering several gulf states. The benefit of a Regional Center is that indirect or imputed jobs may be counted toward the 10 job count requirement if an economic study indicates that the expenditure of investor funds would create such jobs. In other words, within a Regional Center one is not limited to direct jobs (actual headcount), but rather the number of jobs that the economic report indicates would be created by applying various econometric factors based on the expenditure of the invested funds.

Now, you could create a Regional Center and have those jobs count on a direct and on an indirect basis, while the jobs not within your regional center would have to be counted on a direct basis. Note, however, that for the jobs outside of your Regional Center it might be possible to affiliate with another regional center in those other areas (although that would make things more complicated). I am currently working on a project involving a beverage company. It will have operations in Florida, New York, Illinois, Texas and California. Most job creation will be in Florida, so the Regional Center will be there. Should you have any further questions or if I may be of assistance, kindly let me know.

The main business activity of the job creating entity has to be in the Regional Center''s designated geography. If the investment is $500,000 then the main business activity has to be within a TEA. Under a Regional Center, indirect jobs outside the designated geography may be counted.

This is a complex question. The jobs have to be created within the geographic designation where the RC is located. Unfortunately, jobs in urban centers around the country will not suffice, unless you are successful in obtaining a nationwide RC, which needless to say will be a very costly and difficult task. While there is no specific statute prohibiting such a RC, the USCIS practice has been to limit the designation to one state at most.

The jobs must be created within the project location of the Regional Center, not where the Regional Center is located. Each project of a Regional Center must show that it is located within a TEA (targeted employment area), for example, to qualify $500,000 investment requirement. Thus, a business/project that will move people around for location shoot for filming, for example, will have a hard time showing that 10+ permanent, full-time jobs were created within the TEA.

Regional centers are regional (geographically limited) but you can have multiple regional centers in various locations.

There are many options for structuring which could spread the jobs in close areas to each other.