I am planning to invest $500,000 in a new enterprise (E1) that will develop and own a shopping center with five to six shops in a TEA area (but not create jobs directly). It will then lease all five shops but hold some stake (say 10 percent to 20 percent) in two shops (enterprises E2, E3) for perhaps a fast food franchise and a donut shop. Those two shops will have 10 full-time employees. Would this qualify for EB-5? Why or why not? What should I think about in a scenario like this?
Answers
Daniel A Zeft
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyFor a direct EB-5 case, you must invest in an entity which is the new commercial enterprise. This entity, the new commercial enterprise, must directly employ 10 or more people. Your plan is not a direct EB-5 case.
Bernard P Wolfsdorf
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyUSCIS has a negative view on counting tenant occupancy and I would recommend you use a regional center to focus on indirect jobs.
Julia Roussinova
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyIt is possible to form a holding company that will own separate subsidiaries that will create requisite direct jobs. Indirect/induced jobs cannot be counted in a direct EB-5 case, but can be counted if you are an approved regional center or rent a regional center. There may be issues with tenant occupancy methodology for job creation as well, which is no longer allowed under current USCIS guidance. You have a complex question for a blog forum and should obtain a consultation with an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney to go over the specifics of your case.
A Olusanjo Omoniyi
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYou should seriously consider forming an holding company for this venture. The plan can work. Advisably, work with an EB-5 attorney and be ready to put together a business plan that is EB-5 compliant while at the same time fulfilling your objectives.
BoBi Ahn
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyFor EB-5 purposes, the new commercial enterprise that the requisite capital is directly invested in must be the job-creating entity in a direct investment scenario. In order for you to get credit for the "indirect" hires/job creation as you are stating in your scenario, you can either apply for a regional center designation or rent one and process your project under the regional center.
Belma Demirovic Chinchoy
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyNo, would not qualify because of tenant occupancy issue in job creation. You should think about getting a lawyer.
Jinhee Wilde
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyDirect EB-5 investment does not allow you to count indirect jobs. The regional center projects are the only ones that could count indirect and induced jobs. Furthermore, your statement seems to indicate that you wish to count jobs created by tenants of the shopping center. This is called tenant occupancy and it is specifically not allowed by USCIS, even for the regional center projects. See the USCIS policy on tenant occupancy issued on May 29, 2018.
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