New Regional Centers (GA, IL), Legislation Updates, ELIS, Due Diligence

The USCIS list of approved Regional Centers has added another three entries (now 46 new centers in 2013).

Georgia
Southeast Foreign Investment Center LLC
http://www.southeastforeignic.com/

Illinois
Chicago Metro Regional Center, LLC
http://www.nyeb5.com/contact.html
Geographic Area: Illinois counties of Cook, Lake, Will and Du Page
Industry Categories: New Multifamily Housing Construction (NAICS 236116), Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (NAICS 23622), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (NAICS 53121), Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (NAICS 71394), Convenience Stores (NAICS 44512)
Approval Notice

Chicago Regional Center
http://www.chicagorc.net/

(Note: See my Regional Center directory page for my most updated listings for all RCs. And please email me if you would like to provide additional information regarding your RC.)

Chicago Metro Regional Center has the first designation letter that I’ve seen come out of the new Washington DC office, signed by Daniel Renaud as Acting Chief of the Immigrant Investor Program rather than by the California Service Center. Congratulations! I’m interested in the “Job Creation” sections of recent approval letters, and how they discuss economic model approvals, hypothetical vs. I-526 review, and deference. I also wonder about the significance of NAICS code lists appearing twice in recent approval letters, once under the “Regional Center Designation” heading and once under the “Job Creation” heading. Could this distinction open the possibility for Regional Center codes to be relatively general, even as 4-digit+ codes are used in the economic model? I hear rumors that USCIS may be hammering out a new statement on industry category requirements that loosens the highly restrictive trend toward granular industry approvals.

In other EB-5 news, Congress is continuing to discuss immigration reform legislation that includes significant EB-5 provisions. USCIS is working on implementing electronic filing for I-526 petitions, and held a conference call on 5/23 to discuss logistics and solicit feedback. And due diligence continues to be a hot topic of EB-5 conversation.

• EB-5 Legislation Debuts in the House as Part of the “Supplying Knowledge-Based Immigrants and Lifting Levels of STEM Visas Act,” or the “SKILLS Visa Act” by Laura Foote Reiff on May 23rd, 2013
• Leahy Amendment 2 Passes in the Senate – EB-5 Regional Center Program Enhancements by Jennifer Hermansky on May 17, 2013
• Inside Look at EB-5 and Electronic Filing with ELIS by By Mahsa Aliaskari and Dawn Lurie on May 28, 2013
• USCIS ELIS and the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program – Notes from Stakeholder Meeting by Michelle Kobler March 28, 2013
• Perspectives on EB-5 Due Diligence by H. Ronald Klasko on May 15, 2013