What is an EB-5 Regional Center?

The difference between investing directly in an EB-5 project and investing through an EB-5 Regional Center comparable to buying individual stocks and buying a stake in a fund. An EB-5 Regional Center is an organization approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that creates a fund and attracts investors to invest in the EB-5 project.  Investors purchase equity stakes in the investment fund, and then the fund either buys equity in the job-creating entity (the EB-5 project) or loans the job-creating entity money.  The job-creating entity uses the EB-5 investment fund to create jobs (and meet EB-5 requirements) indirectly.

Regional Centers are the so-called “middle man” between businesses that want to create an EB-5 project and investors who want the EB-5 investor visa.

As of March 5, 2018, there are 919 USCIS approved regional centers.  Make sure the regional center you are considering is on the registered list before investing in any advertised EB-5 project.  USCIS also conveniently has a list of terminated regional centers.