If I am making a $500,000 investment in a TEA with the help of a regional center, what will the total expenses be: 1) $500,000 plus the visa processing fee/other minimal surcharges plus the salaries of 10 employees for a fixed duration of time; or 2) $500,000 plus the visa processing fee/other minimal surcharges? When the $500,000 is given to a regional center, does the investment take care of the salaries for 10 employees?
Your $500,000 will be used for certain business activities that should be described in full in the project's business plan and economic analysis report. It may be used for construction or operations of the business (which may include salaries). Any additional fee would be filing fees paid to USCIS, or administration fees paid to the regional center to cover the costs of making the EB-5 investment offering.
When you invest the $500,000 with the regional center, they will take care of all the salaries and development of the project.
If you work with a regional center, most likely your costs will be 1. $ 500,000 if the regional center is in a TEA; 2. Administration fee ranging from $40,000 - $60,000, depending on which regional center you pick; and 3. Legal fee for an immigration attorney who will prepare your immigration petitions. Some regional centers' administration fees also includes the legal fee. 4. Normally, you do not directly pay salaries to employees created by the regional center. The regional center will know how to allocate your investment to create jobs.
If you make a $500,000 investment in a regional center project, then that will generally be the limit of your investment. You will not be responsible for the salaries of any employees nor for any additional costs as a requirement of the EB-5 program. However, most regional centers also charge an administrative fee that may be as much as $50,000. Legal expenses, filing fees and visa fees should also be added to the total cost.
$500,000 is the actual investment and generally there is a $50,000 syndication (subscription) fee payable to a regional center for costs. Regional centers do not generally hire 10 people and utilize direct/indirect job creation methodologies approved by USCIS to qualify EB-5 investors for job creation. It is important that you review a project's offering documentation, such as the PPM, LP agreement, and subscription agreement with an attorney, and understand the terms of your subscription prior to investing.
If you make a $500,000 investment in a regional center, it has to be one with a project located in a TEA in order to qualify at the $500,000 rather than the $1 million level. If you invest in a regional center, your $500,000 is intended to take care of the salaries for the 10 U.S. employees if they are direct, but mostly the employees are indirect or induced employees. Your $500,000, of course, is spent per the private placement memorandum and other related documentation to develop the project as described. You will have other expenses such as a large administrative fee out of which referral fees are paid to qualified agents, as well as filing fees and other related expenses.
The key aspect about investing in a regional center is to choose a good project that meets the job creation requirement via direct and/or indirect jobs. Of course there are many other important aspects including the prospects for the return of your capital after you receive the full green card.
If you are investing $500,000 in a regional center, most of them add a processing fee of $25,000 to $50,000. There is a filing fee of $1,500 at the initial stage plus your immigrant or adjustment filing fees and medical expense. The regional center should be creating the jobs and paying the salaries - not you, unless you invested in your own direct project.
There is usually an administrative/syndication fee of $50,000 or more charged by the regional center. When your $500,000 is invested through a regional center, the job creation is determined by the economic/jobs report based on indirect job creation methodologies. The regional center usually does not actually hire 10 people using your investment. Please review the offering documents from the regional center carefully with your financial adviser. It is important for you to understand what you are investing in and how your money will be deployed and how the jobs will be created so that your EB-5 case will be successfully approved at both the I-526 and I-829 stages.
You should anticipate $500,000 PLUS any other administrative fees/costs that are separate from the $500,000 (i.e., legal fees, government filing fees, and regional center fees, etc). For EB-5 purposes, the investor must invest the minimum capital investment amount, which cannot count the administrative/legal fees/costs. Since you will be investing in the "project" maintained by the regional center, you are not responsible for or need to add on the salaries of the jobs that are created, or any operational costs of the project, etc.
The $500,000 is for the project to provide 10 new positions. In many cases the regional center will charge an administration fee; the average seems to be around $50,000.
