Regional center operation mode

The regional center project plays the role of private fund manager (GP). They first contacted some developers who needed financing in the market and wrote a business plan describing how to stimulate the local economy and increase the employment rate. After preparing all the information, apply to the immigration bureau for pre-approval of the project. Being able to get the pre-approval from the Immigration Bureau will facilitate the marketing in the future, but it will not speed up the application of I-526 by investors. As of September 20 12, 226 regional centers in the United States have been approved. The Immigration Bureau has no strict requirements on professional skills, financial strength or qualifications for the approval of regional centers, so it has great doubts about the investment management ability of regional center managers. At this stage, the regional center can basically conduct external marketing, and recruit investors from overseas by holding various project promotion meetings in cooperation with immigration agencies. Because the funds raised by each project are different, the number of participants in each project is also different. Some projects only need 10 to 20 people, while others need 50 to 60 people. After the first investor who participates in the delegation injects funds into the designated account, he must wait for the last investor to inject funds, and the examination and approval of the Immigration Bureau will begin. If one person gives up during the application process, it will affect everyone's application process, so investors should be prepared for a long-term struggle.

Before raising funds in the regional center, it is usually impossible to predict the end time of raising funds, and it is also impossible to guarantee when the developer's funds will be in place. Once the developer's project is started, it is impossible to wait for a long time, which means that the developer will not have much hope for the regional center. The funds of EB-5 investors will inevitably rank behind other investors, and the risks will naturally increase invisibly.

Steps to become a regional center for immigration:

Step 1. Determine the scope of the regional center

An important step in the examination and approval of regional center is to determine the area and economic scope of the project. This includes judging the location, industry, required investment and business model of the regional center.

Step two. It is very important to set up an expert group to designate a regional center.

Before approving the designation of regional centers, you must contact industry experts so that they can start the work of designating regional centers. These include: economists, accountants, immigration lawyers, etc.

Step three. Submit an I-924 application to the US Immigration Service.

The application form for designating a regional center is actually the I-924 form submitted to the Immigration Bureau, which is usually submitted by immigration lawyers with the assistance of other experts.

Step four. Submit the I-526 application of EB-5 investors to the US Immigration Service.

The I-526 application will list the EB-5 projects that the regional center participates in. The regional center may ask an immigration lawyer to help the applicant submit. After approval, individual EB-5 investors will get a conditional green card and can move to the United States. The regional center can hold part or all of the investment amount until the I-526 application is successful.

Step five. The regional center manages its projects and maintains consistency with the US Immigration Service.

The regional center must supervise investors and record the progress after the project is created. The regional center is also required to provide an annual compliance report to the US Immigration Service -I-924a. Regional centers may also need to report to the US Securities Regulatory Bureau and other state or local securities regulators.

Structure.

Step six. Submit an I-829 application for the applicant.

This application will show that the applicant has met all the requirements of EB-5 project. After approval, investors can obtain permanent residence status in the United States. Although the application is usually submitted by EB-5 applicants themselves, the regional center can provide evidence to prove that the project investment is established and meets the requirements after creation.