What is the cost and time involved in starting a regional center?

A regional center application requires many professionals who need to create or assemble many documents. The cost of a full team of professionals will likely be more than $100,000. It may take several months to prepare and file a regional center designation application, and USCIS currently spends about 18 months processing such cases. U.S. businesses with projects ready for EB-5 investment may consider associating with an existing regional center.

Establishing a regional center through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can be a lengthy process and somewhat expensive, including legal fees typically for an experienced immigration lawyer as well as a corporate securities lawyer and, depending upon the nature of the project, a real estate attorney. In addition, normally you will have expenses associated with an economist in order to establish a basis upon which indirect jobs are counted. Timing is also significant, as it will take at least a year or longer. For that reason, if one has an initial project, it is sometimes advisable to contemporaneously work with an existing regional center in order to market the project while going through the process of establishing one's own regional center.

Currently, you will have an increased filing fee to apply for a regional center designation. It takes a long time to get approved by USCIS before you can actually market EB-5 offering. Marketing, other costs and professional fees will vary by size of the undertaking and industries involved. You may want to consider leasing a regional center or direct investments and also speak with an experienced EB-5 attorney to evaluate your case for feasibility.

With all the legal work involved, it usually costs from $100 - $200,000 to start a center.

The filing fee just increased to almost $18,000 and the cost will vary based on size and industries selected. You can likely buy one for as little as $50,000 as the price has dropped.

In order to be designated a regional center for EB-5 processing purposes, you will need to file a petition with USCIS (filing fee at present is $17,795). The current processing time is approximately 14 months from filing.

While your question is a valid one, you must first have a business plan to run your regional center just like you would any other business. I say this because many people who start regional centers are not fully aware of the ongoing costs of corporate and securities compliance, as well as the costs and expenses of employees, insurance and the like. Your filing fee to form a regional center with USCIS is substantial, and there are other fees that may come into play once the new EB-5 legislation is put into place. This is totally apart from an offering document for whatever project you are looking to be involved with, marketing, as well as the costs for getting that project approved by USCIS. Whatever the case, you should budget for not only legal fees, but other expenses as well. Speaking with an experienced attorney in the EB-5 space with both immigration and securities experience is necessary so you can evaluate what you are looking at and whether your venture is feasible.