More New RCs (AL, FL, LA, MS, NY, TX, WV)

The number of new Regional Center approvals in 2013 is now up to 35, as the USCIS list of approved Regional Centers continues to be updated. West Virginia is now represented on the list for the first time thanks to Mid Atlantic EB5 Regional Center. Gulf States Regional Center is remarkable for being the first approval I’ve seen of an RC application filed in 2012, and for having achieved approval of a wide-ranging geographic area and industry categories defined by two and three digit NAICS codes, including NAICS 44-45 for Retail Trade. Many Requests for Evidence issued by USCIS in 2011-2012 sought to severely limit RC geographic area (strictly interpreting the mandate that “A regional center shall have jurisdiction over a limited geographic area”) and demanded minimum four-digit NAICS codes as a matter of principle. This new approval shows that case-specific (or adjudicator-specific) variations are possible. It’s a good reminder not to treat what appear to be general policy statements in Requests for Evidence as actual policy statements, and to realize that USCIS is serious about its case-specific approach to EB-5 adjudications. Congrats to these new centers on having navigated the review process so (relatively) quickly.

Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas
Gulf States Regional Center, LLC
Geographic Area: Alabama counties of Mobile and Baldwin
Florida counties of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton
Louisiana counties of Orleans, St. Bernard, Plaquemine, Jefferson, Terrebonne, Lafourche, Vermillion, Iberia, St. Mary, Lafayette, Cameron, and Calcasieu
Mississippi counties of Jackson, Harrison, and Hancock
Texas counties of Orange, Jefferson, Chambers, Galveston, Brazoria, Matagorda, Nueces, Calhoun, Refugio, Aransas, San Patricio, Kleberg, Kenedy, Willacy, Cameron
Industry Categories: Food Services and Drinking Places (NAICS 722), Accommodation (NAICS 721), Retail Trade (44-45), Nursing and Residential Care Facilities (NAICS 623), Construction (NAICS 23)
Designation Letter

New York
U.S. Immigration Fund N-Y
http://www.visaeb-5.com/new-york-regional-center-usifund

West Virginia
Mid Atlantic Regional EB5 Regional Center LLC
http://midatlanticeb5.com/

(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.)

New RCs (CA, MD, MI, MO, PA, TX, WA)

The USCIS list of approved Regional Centers has been updated again, for a total of 32 new Regional Center approvals so far in 2013. Good work chipping away at that backlog, EB-5 team. I look forward to seeing the designation letter for each of these new RCs.

California
Southern California Investment Center, LLC
Geographic Area: California counties of Monterey, Madera, Kings, Tulare, Kern, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Fresno, Inyo, Mono, San Luis Obispo, San Bernardino, Ventura, Orange, and Imperial
Industries: Continuing Care Retirement Communities (NAICS 623311) and Commercial and Institutional Construction (NAICS 23622)
Designation Letter

Maryland, Pennsylvania
Three Streams Mid-Atlantic Regional Center
http://threestreamsinvestments.com/

Michigan
Michigan Renaissance Regional Center
http://www.transinns.com/

Missouri
Gateway to the Midwest Investment Center, Inc.
http://www.stlouiseb5.com
Geographic Area: St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County in Missouri
Industries: Residential Building Construction (NAICS 2361), Nonresidential Building Construction (NAICS 2362), Furniture Merchant Wholesalers (NAICS 423210), Traveler Accommodation (NAICS 7211)
Designation Letter

Texas
Texas Regional Fortune Center, LLC
http://txregionalfortunecenter.com/

Washington
Washington State Regional Center

(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.)

New Regional Centers (CA, FL, IN, NJ, NY, PA, SC, TX, WA)

New entries are still appearing on the USCIS list of approved regional centers. USCIS has approved 26 new centers already in 2013, versus 19 approvals in all of 2012.  Sure would be nice if USCIS would publish the designation letters so that the public knows what each center is licensed to do. I look forward to receiving details about each of these new centers, including web address/contact info, details of approved geographic area and industries, and designation letter.

California
American Sun Regional Center

Florida
American Liberty Regional Center, LLC
Website: http://www.americanlibertyeb5.com/

Indiana
Global Investment Consulting, Inc.
news story

New Jersey
Pennsylvania
New Jersey EB-5 Regional Center
Linked-In

New York
Advantage America New York Regional Center, LLC
Website: www.aaeb5.com
Contact: jpark@aaeb5.com
Geographic Scope: Queens County, Kings County, New York County, Bronx County, Westchester County, Nassau County.
Industries: Commercial and Institutional Building Construction; Traveler Accommodation; Full-Service Restaurant
Designation Letter

South Carolina
Coastal Carolina Regional Center

Texas
American Regional Center, LLC

Washington
Dream Harbor Regional Center
Website: http://dreamharboreb5.com/

(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.)

New Regional Centers (MD, MT, NY)

Ladies and Gentlemen, Regional Center applications are being approved! Three more new centers appeared on the USCIS Regional Center list this week, for a total of six new approvals so far in 2013 (versus 19 approvals in all of 2012). Maybe your application will be next.

Maryland
Washington Center for Foreign Investment, LLC
http://www.wcffi.com/
Geographic Scope: Frederick, Montgomery, Carroll and Washington Counties in Maryland
Target Industry Economic Categories: Multifamily Housing Construction (NAICS 236116), Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (NAICS 23622), Architectural, Engineering and Related Services (NAICS 5413), Lessors of Real Estate (NAICS 5311)

Montana
Yellowstone Montana Regional Center, LLC
http://www.centuryamericanrc.com/about-us/executive-team
Geographic Scope: Missoula and Ravalli Counties in Montana
Economic Activity: Loans to 3rd party enterprises
Target Industry Economic Categories: Traveler Accommodation (NAICS 7211), Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (NAICS 236220)
Designation Letter

New York
Lam NYC EB-5 Fund Regional Center, LLC
http://lamnyceb5.com/

(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.)

New Regional Centers (GA, SC, WA)

The USCIS list of approved regional centers has added two new entries.

Georgia & South Carolina
USHoldings Regional Center (www.usholdingssc.com)

Washington
Tri-Cities Investment District, LLC  (http://www.tricitiesid.com)
Geographic Scope: Washington Counties of Benton and Franklin
Investment Focus: Loans and equity investments to 3rd party enterprises in the NAICS categories of residential building construction (2361), commercial building construction (2362), lessors of real estate (5311), room and boarding houses (7213), and hotels and motels (72111).

(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.)

It’s great to see I-924 applications getting approved!

New Regional Center (CNMI)

The USCIS list of approved Regional Centers has been updated with the first new entry of 2013:

Name: Marianas EB-5 Regional Center
Location: Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands
Scope: I have not yet found the designation letter, but you can read about the center in the Saipan Tribune.

I’ll be interested to see how the USCIS Regional Center list changes this year. 2012 (calendar year) saw just 19 new regional centers added to the list, as compared to 74 new centers in 2011. USCIS statistics for I-924s (initial and amendment applications) in FY2012 report 240 applications received and 98 processed (35 approved and 63 denied). One hopes that the new guidance memo will result in decisions being made on many pending applications.

New RCs in 2011

As we reach the end of 2011, a few comments on Regional Center approvals this year:

• USCIS approved 74 new regional centers across 27 states in 2011. As of 12/31/2011, there were 211 entries on the USCIS list of approved Regional Centers (including duplicate listings for centers spanning more than one state).
• The greatest number of new centers was in California (28, or 38% of the total). Texas came in second with 9 new centers approved in 2011, followed by Washington (5 new centers), New York (4 new centers), Illinois (3 new centers) and Florida (3 new centers).
• A number of states added two new centers each, including Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Utah.
• States with one new center each include Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Ohio.
• An average of six new centers were announced per month, distributed throughout the year as follows:

Month (2011)	# of Centers Approved
January	2
February	0
March	7
April	5
May	7
June	7
July	5
August	11
September	13
October	6
November	4
December	7

• USCIS reports 176 initial RC proposal filings from 10/2010 to 09/2011, and 83 applications pending as of 06/2011. We’re still seeing applications from the 11/2010 rush making their way through the system, but I’ve also seen  faster approvals (for example applications approved in 09/2011 included one filed in 03/2011 and another filed in 05/2011).

List of Regional Centers

Since www.uscis.gov/eb-5centers now lists Regional Center names only and no longer functions as a directory, I have added a page to my website  (RC List) with more helpful information including the web address and approved geographic area/industries for each center.

New Regional Center (CA)

The USCIS list of Regional Centers has added two entries (up to 204), but I think just accounting for multi-state centers. However I notice one new center I previously neglected to report:

USA Continental Regional Center (www.usacontinentalregionalcenter.com)
Geographic Scope: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura Counties
Investment Focus: Construction of commercial and office infrastructures

RC initial proposal and I-485 processing

Yes, I did note that the USCIS list of approved regional centers was updated on 7/11 and 7/18, but not with any new centers. I spoke last week with a company that filed its application in November and just received an RFE. In the 6/30 EB-5 presentation, USCIS reported “target processing time” of 4 months and “current processing time” of 4.5 months for RC initial designation proposals. However Sasha Haskell clarified on the call that by “processing time,” USCIS means the time the proposal waits before review starts, not the time to complete review. She said that “turnaround times” are too case-specific to estimate, but I can estimate 7-9 months based on my recent observation of RC initial proposal processing.

The USCIS Office of Public Engagement announced today the availability of new performance data for a number of petitions, including the I-485 (which is the follow-up to I-526 for EB-5 investors who are currently in the US on a different visa). Here is a summary of the data reported so far for employment-related I-485.

Source: USCIS

I’m not sure how to read this data.  The file doesn’t provide “receipt” data for the employment-related I-485, and doesn’t clarify what the “pending” column means.  It could appear that a whole bunch of pending petitions disappeared between 2010 and 2011, but I’ll assume that’s not the case.

New Regional Center (ND, MN)

The USCIS list of approved Regional Centers has been updated as of 4/21 with one interesting new center, a first for both North Dakota and Minnesota. The website link associates it with the University of North Dakota Center for Innovation, and I assume that EB-5 investment will soon be added to the “Entrepreneur Financing” options offered by the center. If the applicants had called me prior to filing their proposal I might have responded with cold water — alerting them that a geographic range covering all of one state and part of another is difficult for an economic analysis based on multipliers, and cautioning them about including such a wide range of broadly defined industries, each of which will have to be illustrated by a sample project and narrowed enough to enable job counts. Fortunately they didn’t call me, and what do you know this center has been approved. Congrats UND!

UND Center for Innovation Foundation Regional Center (www.innovators.net)
Geographic Scope: The entire State of North Dakota and 20 counties in Northwestern Minnesota, which includes Kittson, Roseau, Marshall, Pennington, Beltrami, Red Lake, Polk, Norman, Clay, Otter Tail, Douglas, Pope, Traverse, Stevens, Wilkin, Becker, Mahnomen, Clearwater, Grant and Lake of the Woods.
Industries: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Manufacturing; Construction Machinery Manufacturing; Mining Machinery Manufacturing; Aerospace Product & Parts Manufacturing; Information; Research and Development in Biotechnology; Electric Power Transmission, Control and Distribution; Real Estate

New Regional Center (MD)

The USCIS list of approved regional centers has been updated as of today 12/16 with one new center, the first for the State of Maryland. This brings the grand total of RCs approved in November and December to three, with well over a hundred new proposals pending.

Maryland Center for Foreign Investment, LLC
Geographic Scope: Counties of Baltimore City, Baltimore, Carroll, Hartford, Anne Arundel, Prince George’s and Howard in the State of Maryland
Industries: Commercial Real Estate Development; Arts, Entertainment and Recreation

Delay at the CSC?

Since August 16th, only one new Regional Center has appeared in the USCIS directory. In June USCIS reported 65 proposals pending, and only 12 approvals have appeared since then. Last I heard (June), USCIS was stating four months for Regional Center proposal processing, but I know of proposals submitted six months ago that are not yet through the pipeline. I wonder what’s going on at the California Service Center?

RC list update

The USCIS list of approved Regional Centers shows an update as of today 9/13/2010. No new centers this time, but Arizona EB-5 Regional Center has changed its name to Green Card Fund.