What happens if a TEA loses eligibility during an EB-5 investor’s five year investment term?

TEA is calculated at the time of investment. The prevailing rule is that if the project was located in a TEA at the time of investment, and/or at the time of I-526 filing, the investment amount at $500,000 will qualify irrespective of whether or not the project no longer falls within a TEA in future years. TEA letters are issued by the local or state government, and are valid for one year at the time of issue. Please review the TEA letter carefully, as sometimes the local or state government will not use the most up-to-date unemployment figures. This has been a recent issue, and can cause a USCIS inquiry.

TEA designation must be in effect at the time of investment.

The investment under USCIS is only required for two years. If it loses TEA status after you receive your permanent residency, then no problem.

The requirement for the investors is that the TEA has to be in existence at the time of the filing of the I-526 petition and/or the time of the investment.

The new commercial enterprise must be in a TEA at the time of the investment. If the TEA designation changes later on, the investment was already made, so nothing would change. However, for the project or regional center, they would have to require that new investors deposit $1 million.

The regulations require that the area qualify as a TEA at the time of investment (or filing the I-526 if the funds are put in an escrow account). There is no requirement that the area remain a TEA for any period of time after that.

The statute and regulations governing the EB-5 program defines a "targeted employment area" as, at the time of investment.

The TEA designation is in essence frozen at the time the I-526 petition is submitted to USCIS.

Generally the original TEA designation will remain in effect for your application. However, you should review this with your attorney as every application is unique.

An investor may qualify based on an investment of $500,000 if the investment is in a TEA at the time of investment or the time of filing the I-526 petition, whichever is earlier. Placement of funds into escrow is not "investment," so in this case, the determining date would be the time of filing. The EB-5 program is a job creating program. If the area is no longer a TEA, then the presumption is that your investment created jobs, and the program is working.