What is the difference between the EB-5 investment amounts? - EB5Investors.com

What is the difference between the EB-5 investment amounts?

Other than the actual amount itself, what are the differences between making the $500,000 EB-5 investment and making the $1 million EB-5 investment?

Answers

Barbara Suri

Barbara Suri

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

A regular EB-5 investment is a minimum of $1 million, unless the project is in a Targeted Employment Area or part of a regional center; then the minimum EB-5 investment is $500,000.

Raymond Lahoud

Raymond Lahoud

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The $500,000 investment amounts are made in Targeted Employment Areas - these are areas that meet certain high unemployment levels of rural areas. The $1 million investments are for projects outside of Targeted Employment Areas.

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

$500,000 investments are allowed only in Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs), which are either rural areas or areas with an unemployment rate 50 percent higher than the national average rate. Almost all EB-5 investments are designed to be located in TEAs and therefore, only $500,000, not $1 million is required. For a $1 million investment, the new commercial enterprise may be located anywhere, including within a TEA. $500,000 investments may be made in either a regional center EB-5 project or a direct EB-5 project, as long as the new commercial enterprise is located within a TEA.

Charles Foster

Charles Foster

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The 1990 Act requires a $1 million investment unless the investor invests in a Targeted Economic Area (TEA). Obviously, most investors would like to invest the lower amount at $500,000, which is legally possible only if the investment is located in a Targeted Economy Area (TEA). A TEA investment is one located in a rural area outside of a city or metropolitan statistical area larger than 20,000 or in an area of high unemployment where the unemployment rate in the census tract or aggregate of census tracts averages 1.5 times the national average. As a practical matter, the vast majority of the EB-5 regional centers are set up at the $500,000 level where they have used a TEA that aggregated census tracts in order to meet the requirement of 1.5 the national unemployment rate.

John J Downey

John J Downey

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The difference is the location of the project. If it is an area of high unemployment, designated as a TEA by the state, then an investment of $500,000 is allowed; if not, then the $1 million is required.

Michael A Harris, Esq

Michael A Harris, Esq

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The principal difference is that investors making $500,000 investments must do so in Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs) that have either very high unemployment (150 percent of the national average) or are located in "rural" areas as defined by the U.S. Census. Investors spending $1 million are generally investing in projects not located in TEAs, and that is why they must spend more. The other requirements concerning EB-5 law currently remain the same.

A Olusanjo Omoniyi

A Olusanjo Omoniyi

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

$500,000 investments are for investments in a rural area.

Richard A Gump, Jr

Richard A Gump, Jr

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The critical difference is the location of the business. In order to qualify for the $500,000 investment level, the business needs to be located in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA). An area may be considered a TEA because it is located in a rural area or the unemployment rate meets a specific level. The immigration statue has specific definitions for rural and the unemployment rate.

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The reduced amount is for investment in Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs) with unemployment at 150 percent of the national average, or in certain rural areas.

Vaughan de Kirby

Vaughan de Kirby

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The amount of the required investment is determined by where the new business enterprise is located. If it is in a rural location or a TEA, the investment is $500,000 - if not, it is $1 million.

Salvatore Picataggio

Salvatore Picataggio

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Just where the project is located. Congress, when creating the program, designated that investments should be $1 million unless the project is in a Targeted Employment Area. In that case, the investment can be $500,000. Regardless, the same job creation (10) is required, as is the structure of the project itself.

Anthony Korda

Anthony Korda

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Other than the amount invested, there is no difference. Both require the creation of 10 new jobs and adherence to the business plan.

Stephen Berman

Stephen Berman

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

For the $1 million investment, you do not need to prove it is a regional center. You do need to show actual job creation also.

BoBi Ahn

BoBi Ahn

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The major difference (besides the amount invested) would be that the commercial enterprise that the money is invested in has to be located in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA), in order for the minimum requisite investment amount to be lowered to $500,000 instead of $1 million.

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