Which way is better to attract EB-5 investors - direct or regional center? - EB5Investors.com

Which way is better to attract EB-5 investors – direct or regional center?

We are planning to set up a integrated medical clinic in San Francisco. Due to California's regulation for clinics, we have to use a management service company. Our staff will be about 13 persons. I want to take advantage of EB-5 opportunities due to my close connections in China. But which route is better in this scenario? Direct investors or to create a regional center?

Answers

Salvatore Picataggio

Salvatore Picataggio

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Regional center investments are most common in the EB-5 investor market, so creating one or affiliating with an existing RC may be bestbut the direct market is heating up as well.

Julia Roussinova

Julia Roussinova

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

If you have requisite job creation, it may be less complicated to do direct investment. Each EB-5 investor is responsible for at least 10 full-time jobs and, unless the business is in a targeted employment area or rural area, a higher investment amount will apply. In a regional center scenario, you may count direct and induced job creation and take advantage of the reduced EB-5 investment amount, but it takes time to get designation. I suggest you discuss both routes with an experienced EB-5 immigration counsel.

Marisa Casablanca

Marisa Casablanca

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

In a situation where the direct investment will create 13 jobs, a direct investment is the best approach.

Debbie Klis

Debbie Klis

Securities Attorneys
Answered on

That is a great question. In my experience, investors do not have a preference between the two; the critical component is having a solid project with a strong team behind it. When you have a service intensive project such as your hospital project in San Francisco, you may have enough direct jobs that you will not need to rely on the indirect and induced jobs. I believe that most projects would do a direct investment if they could. The reason why the regional center program is so popular is because of the ability to ratchet up the job count with indirect/induced jobs. If your project will not have capital expenditures as part of your project and/or you have enough direct new hires to support the job requirements for the amount of EB-5 money you need, then a direct investment is a bit less complex to structure and less expensive to structure. Good luck with your project!

Kyle Barella

Kyle Barella

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The vast majority of EB-5 investors go through approved regional centers. This allows them to take advantage of the indirect job count, as well as the more passive role.

BoBi Ahn

BoBi Ahn

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

In deciding whether to opt for regional center or direct investment, the investor should review whether a regional center is needed to meet the requirements for EB-5 since obtaining a regional center designation is time-consuming and costly. There is also the option to rent an existing regional center. In most cases, EB-5 investors opt for investment through regional centers if minimum job creation is a factor or if the investor does not want to actively operate the commercial enterprise that they will be investing in, etc.

Charles Foster

Charles Foster

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Generally speaking, there are significant advantages in having your project marketed working through a regional center. A regional center can count indirect and induced jobs. They also have marketing experience if you choose the right regional center. By counting indirect jobs, you can normally attract more investors, since with a staff of 13 persons you can only have a single investor.

Lynne Feldman

Lynne Feldman

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

There are pluses and minuses to both - I suggest discussing these before deciding. A regional center is going to delay you a couple of years, but you can then count indirect jobs.

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

About 95 percent of EB-5 is generally regional center, so generally speaking, it is easier to market indirectly in China. Howsoever, if the person wants to actually manage the business, and you will hire 10 full-time employees, direct is less complicated.

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