What costs are there beyond the EB-5 investment amount?

Regional centers charge "administration fees" that may be around $50,000, on top of the $500,000 investment. There are also attorney's fees, in many cases, and filing fees. If you plan to develop your own direct project, there are easily $50,000 worth of professionals fees (business plan, corporate attorney, etc.)

In a regional center investment, the administrative fee is usually nonrefundable. It ranges from $50,000 to $55,000. This covers offering expenses, including (i) fees to marketing agents in foreign countries, including registered financial intermediaries and agents responsible for identifying the investors, and (ii) processing EB-5 applications, offering and marketing expenses, compensation to financial advisors, legal, accounting, and administration expenses. Many foreign agents help facilitate the source of fund documentation process directly with the investor and therefore receive the bulk if not all of the administrative fee. In a direct investment, depending on the nature of your business and how experienced you are with that type of business, it is possible to spend additional costs on consulting or professional service fees (in addition to your immigration attorney fees).

Generally, in regional center investment you will have a subscription fee on average of $50,000, legal fees, the cost of translation of foreign documents other than in English, and USCIS filing fees. The cost of direct investment may be less or more depending on whether you invest in your business in a TEA or rural area (otherwise currently $1 million) and taking into consideration the overall cost of wages of at least 10 full-time employee positions that must be maintained during conditional residence until your I-829 is adjudicated. Investment amount increases and other changes are forthcoming when new legislation is enacted soon.

It is not appropriate to compare the costs of direct investment (i.e. situation where an EB-5 investor establishes and runs their own business) with indirect investment (i.e. investing through an EB-5 regional center). The costs and input analysis for evaluation of each investment are vastly different in terms of management, fees and time associated with the operations of each investment. Also, the information you will obtain is certainly going to be unreliable and cannot be generally applied across the board due to factors such as market conditions, locations and unique characteristics of the business venture you may be considering. Advisably, if you want to run your own business under EB-5, do a thorough due diligence investigation of the specific business in question, location where you intend to operate the business, and costs, just to name a few. Finally, consulting an EB-5 professional, particularly an attorney, is highly advisable.

You have substantial costs beyond the minimum $500,000 investment which, by the way, could be increased as early as December 2016. You would have to pay an administrative fee, which covers the referral fee that is normally paid by most regional centers plus you would have your related legal fees and expenses. The direct investment option may be less expensive since you would not have to pay an administrative fee, but it also has a higher degree of risk. Your source of information with reference to the $50,000 application fee is most likely referring to the administrative fee, which could be as high as $50,000 or somewhat higher or lower.

Yes, the regional center does charge an administrative fee for its services. The amounts vary from center to center. A direct investment does not need an indirect job count, hence no need for a regional center.

Direct investment in a TEA might cost less than regional center because there is no administrative fee, which is generally $50,000. Direct investment otherwise would cost $1 million dollars.

If you are going through a regional center, you are looking at the following: 1. Subscription fee and investment fee of $550,000; 2. Lawyer fee of approximately $15,000 (this is variable and is for the first and second phases); and 3. Government charge of $6,000.

Most regional center EB-5 projects require additional payment of a syndication or administrative fee of about $50,000. These fees are used by the regional center to defray marketing costs, pay administrative expenses, and mostly, to pay a commission to the agent referring the investor. Some regional centers will waive all or part of this fee if there is no agent or middleman involved. Direct individual EB-5 cases do not have such costs, but they may present other costs and expenses because the EB-5 investor is doing business himself or herself. Some pooled direct EB-5 cases that market their projects in similar ways to regional centers also have syndication or administrative fees of about $50,000.

It is correct that most regional centers charge an administrative fee of $50,000, and you also have the legal fee for your attorney. Direct projects also have admin fees, although arguably if you open your own business this admin fee will not apply. Realistically you need to look at the cost of 10 full-time workers if you are seeking a direct investment, and compare that total commitment to the current $500,000 minimum required for most investments. By the way, a bill has been introduced which will sustainably increase the investment amount when enacted.

In most cases, the direct investment amount is $1 million, unless you are investing in certain projects that provide for an ownership interest or equity interest in the property. Many regional center projects have "administrative fees" between $25,000 - $100,000, which are used to manage the project, but also used to pay others for services. You should shop around and find a project with the fee structure that works best for you. Whatever project you choose, hire U.S. securities counsel to assist in the review of the documents and to assist in your own due diligence. There are also due diligence firms in the United States and elsewhere that provide reports on project offerings.

Many regional centers add an administrative fee of $25,000 - $50,000.