Yesterday, July 12, the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) released the new I-526E Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor form. This form will replace the standard I-526 form for regional center associated investors and will allow investors to begin filing petitions soon.
One of the most notable changes in the new I-526E form, as compared to the legacy I-526, is that it will incorporate the evidence submitted within a regional center’s filed I-956F petition. The USCIS has indicated that I-526E petitions must include an I-956F receipt number and NCE ID number upon submission. This should allow USCIS to associate new I-526E petitions to a previously filed I-956F petition.
The I-956F petition, under requirements established by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, must be filed by regional centers for each of their EB-5 investment offerings. This new petition is similar to older I-924 ‘Exemplar’ petitions. It contains information related to the new commercial enterprise an EB-5 investment offering will target, as well as job creation projections, a TEA analysis (if applicable), etc.
This should be beneficial for EB-5 investors and immigration attorneys alike by creating a more streamlined and less cumbersome process for individual investor filings.
CMB has already filed I-956F petitions for two new investment opportunities and is currently accepting new investors. We are awaiting receipt notices from the USCIS on both. Once received, new CMB EB-5 investors will be able to immediately file their individual I-526E petitions.
CMB Group 78: Hillwood California BTS is the first of CMB’s new investment opportunities. This EB-5 project is located in a high-unemployment TEA (Targeted Employment Area) and involves the construction of industrial logistics facilities in California.
CMB Group 82: Hazelton Logistics Park is the second opportunity CMB has available to prospective EB-5 investors. The project is another industrial logistics facility located in Hazelton, Pennsylvania.
Hillwood Development Company will serve as the borrower and project developer for both Group 78 and Group 82. CMB and HIllwood have built what we believe is the strongest Regional Center/Developer relationship in the EB-5 industry. CMB has collaborated with Hillwood on over 30 different EB-5 partnerships all over the United States.
For more information on Group 78 or Group 82, visit our website HERE.
Over 5,800 immigrant investors from 103 countries have chosen CMB EB-5 investments to pursue permanent residence in the United States. We are excited to begin accepting new EB-5 investors. Availability in these first two EB-5 partnerships may be limited. Prospective investors should begin their due diligence process and select an immigration attorney now for the best chance to secure a unit.
CMB is Currently Offering Multiple EB-5 Regional Center Investment Opportunities.
EB-5 Regional Center Projects Available Now – CMB is Currently Offering Multiple EB-5 Regional Center Investment Opportunities. CMB Regional Centers (CMB) has projects available that are in compliance with the newly reauthorized EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program (EB-5). In conjunction with a June 24th Federal Court ruling, a preliminary injunction has been issued to reinstate all previously designated EB-5 regional centers. The ruling also notes that USCIS must start accepting newly filed I-526 petitions immediately.
CMB sets the standard for industry leading projects. With over 70 projects that have been introduced to the market, CMB continues to have a 100% project approval rate through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which very few regional centers can attest to. CMB currently has two projects available for investors that are looking to invest in EB-5 through a regional center. These projects are both with Hillwood Development Company (Hillwood) a developer that CMB has partnered with over 30 times in the past decade. CMB and Hillwood are considered the best lender/borrower relationship in EB-5. CMB has raised over $850 million in EB-5 investment capital for Hillwood projects, which has been utilized with approximately $3.5 billion in matching funds for a total of $4.3 billion in total economic development in job creating projects across the U.S. What’s more CMB EB-5 Partnerships featuring Hillwood projects have received approvals at both the I-526 and I-829 stage and Hillwood has never defaulted on a CMB EB-5 loan.
CMB’s 25-year history has proven our ability to navigate the evolving landscape of EB-5. CMB utilizes our years of experience and the strength of our time-tested structure in developing each of our EB-5 investment opportunities. This continues to stand true with our Group 78 and Group 82 projects that are available for EB-5 investors to invest in today. CMB Group 78, Hillwood California BTS, is raising up to $75.5 million in EB-5 capital for the development and construction of two separate e-commerce distribution and fulfillment warehouses that have leases already in place with two Fortune 500 companies. These two warehouses will total approximately 3 million square feet (278,709 m2) located in Southern California. This project has also already received an I-924 exemplar approval already from the USCIS in April of 2021 and continues qualify as a Targeted Employment Area (TEA), to allow investors to move forward at the lower $800,000 high-unemployment investment level.
CMB Group 82, Hillwood Hazleton Logistics Park, is raising up to $36 million in EB-5 capital for the development and construction of a 1.2 million square feet (111,483 m2) located in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. This development has already entered into a 7 year (84 month) lease with a company in the Top 20 of the Global 500 list. Group 82 also qualifies as a high-unemployment TEA allowing investors to move forward at the lower $800,000 EB-5 investment level.
Available units in CMB EB-5 partnerships may subscribe fast. We encourage all prospective EB-5 investors to select an immigration attorney and begin the due diligence process now.
To learn more about the EB-5 Investor Visa, or CMB’s current EB-5 offerings, please contact us to schedule a free initial consultation with a CMB Investor Relations Manager. Our contact information is email or +1-309-797-1550
CMB engages Prevail Capital, LLC, a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC, to be the administrative placement agent for all CMB EB-5 partnerships.
The EB-5 Regional Center Program (EB-5) will be officially reauthorized 60 days from the passage of the Federal appropriations package for FY 2022. The legislation, named the “EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022”, is great news not just for new investors interested to immigrate to the United States, but for the thousands of investor families that have been waiting in limbo due to the sunset of the program in June of 2021.
CMB Regional Centers, a leader in the EB-5 industry, has been working closely with others in the industry and law makers to establish long-term reauthorization and integrity reforms since 2015. Pat Hogan, CMB’s CEO and Founder, is one of the longest serving board members with IIUSA, the largest trade organization involved with the EB-5 regional center program. His work was essential to achieve this result.
CMB has always lived by this motto: take care of the investor first, and we will both achieve success. The new EB-5 legislation establishes important integrity and transparency measures for the industry, and protects the thousands of immigrant investor families with pending EB-5 petitions, allowing them to continue on their path to permanent residency in the United States.
This new legislation implements many changes to the program that every current and prospective investor should understand:
Changes to the EB-5 Regional Center Program:
The Regional Center Program will be reauthorized through September 30, 2027 (5.5 years).
The legislation includes ‘grandfathering’ for all investors who have an I-526 on file, or who file or have filed their I-526 petitions prior to September 30, 2026. Those investors will be able to complete the EB-5 process, even if the regional center program were to lapse again.
The new minimum investment level will be $1.05 million, which will be reduced to $800,000 if the project is located in a qualified high-unemployment or rural area, or is an infrastructure project.
The new investment amounts will take effect immediately, but the regional center program will not be officially reauthorized for 60 days. During this time, regional centers and regional center investors will not be able to file new petitions with the USCIS.
The minimum investment amount will be automatically adjusted for inflation every fifth year beginning on January 1, 2027 for the higher dollar amount, and the lower amount will be calculated at 75% of the higher amount.
New visa set-asides have been implemented: 20% of all visas will go to investors who invest in projects that qualify as rural, 10% will be reserved for high unemployment areas investments as defined under the new law, and 2% will be for infrastructure projects.
Investors that are already in the United States on another visa can now file their I-526 and their adjustment of status petitions at the same time.
New integrity measures are established that will protect investors by adding more reporting requirements for regional centers and their operators, and requiring disclosures of all fees paid.
Prospective investors that are interested to move forward with a new regional center investment have 60 days to begin their due diligence on potential investment opportunities. In the next 60 days, you will need to determine what immigration attorney will handle your case, and make the important decision of what regional center you want to invest with and what project you want to select.
CMB has an over 20 year history of assisting EB-5 investors and their families with their immigration pursuits. To date, nearly 6,000 investors from 103 countries have chosen CMB for their EB-5 investments. CMB’s 78 separate investment partnerships maintain a 100% project approval rate when adjudicated by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). CMB continues to work with the same strong developers that have the same commitment of maintaining a successful track record.
CMB has EB-5 projects available that meet all the requirements of the newly passed legislation that reauthorized the EB-5 regional center program. These EB-5 investment opportunities involve the construction of logistics facilities and have long term leases already in place with Fortune 500 companies in the e-commerce industry.
Available units in CMB EB-5 partnerships may subscribe fast. We encourage all prospective EB-5 investors to select an immigration attorney and begin the due diligence process now.
To learn more about the EB-5 Investor Visa, or CMB’s current EB-5 offerings, please contact us to schedule a free initial consultation with a CMB Investor Relations Manager. Our contact information is email or +1-309-797-1550
CMB engages Prevail Capital, LLC, a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC, to be the administrative placement agent for all CMB EB-5 partnerships.
The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 has officially been attached to the federal omnibus spending bill by the US House of Representatives, which is slated to be voted on and passed by House and Senate ahead of the March 11, 2022 deadline. The bill is the result of a lengthy bipartisan effort to reform the EB-5 Regional Center Program headed by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA).
The bill includes numerous changes to the EB-5 program, including new protections for investors, a change to the minimum investment amount, and new integrity and compliance requirements for regional centers. Below is a high level summary of some of the important changes that are included in the new law.
Effective Date and Authorization
The bill will extend the EB-5 regional center program through September 30, 2027. Although the changes to the minimum investment amount and TEA regulations (discussed below) will take effect immediately, the regional center program will not officially be reauthorized until 60 days after the bill passes.
Grandfathering
The new bill includes protections from future regional center program expiration for investors that have already filed their I-526 petition with the USCIS and new investors who file prior to September 30, 2026. If the regional center program were to lapse again, those investors that filed their petitions prior to September 30, 2026, would remain eligible to continue with the EB-5 immigration process.
CMB is very excited to see this language included in the bill as we saw this provision as necessary integrity to protect all investors that have invested into the EB-5 Regional Center Program. Now through September 30, 2026, EB-5 investors can now move forward with certainty that their immigration petitions will be adjudicated (even those in countries with a long wait list).
Minimum Investment Amounts
The new minimum investment amount will be $1,050,000, which is reduced to $800,000 if the EB-5 project is located in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or is an infrastructure project. A TEA includes an area of high unemployment or a rural area, and must qualify under the same requirements as the previous EB-5 regulations that were introduced in 2019. An infrastructure project is a public works project in which a governmental entity is the job-creating entity that receives the EB-5 capital from the new commercial enterprise.
Job Creation (Direct and Indirect Limits)
Indirect jobs can now only account for up to 90% of the job creation required for an EB-5 visa, or up to 75% if the construction of the project is less than two years. The remaining required job creation must be through direct job creation, which can be proven using reasonable econometric methodologies.
Visa Set Asides
A certain number of the total amount of approximately 10,000 annual visas allocated to the EB-5 program will now be ‘reserved’ through visa set asides each year for investors that invest in certain categories: 20% of all visas will go to investors who invested in projects that qualify as rural, 10% for high unemployment areas as defined under the new law, and 2% for infrastructure projects.
Regional Center Requirements
The bill includes numerous stringent new requirements for regional centers in relation to securities compliance, record keeping, ownership, and administration. All regional centers will undergo a USCIS audit at least once every 5 years. Additionally, a new integrity fund has been created in which regional centers must contribute $10,000-$20,000 annually (depending on the size of the regional center) to allow the USCIS to investigate and monitor the all of the parties within the EB-5 industry to ensure compliance.
Promoters
All direct and third-party promoters working in the EB-5 program must register with the USCIS. This includes broker-dealers in the United States and all migration agents, consultants, and finders in other countries. All fees paid to these promoters must be disclosed in writing to the investor in detail, which will be filed the investor’s petitions. Additionally, the promoters must comply with certain bad-actor requirements in order to be eligible to participate in the EB-5 program.
CMB Regional Centers
CMB is extremely excited for the future of the EB-5 program, as is protects past investors and provides the much needed integrity we have all been advocating for years. This new legislation paves the way to realize EB-5’s full potential as a job creation tool for the U.S. economy.
As one of the oldest and most successful regional centers in the industry, CMB is looking forward to providing high quality EB-5 investment opportunities to those who want to pursue permanent residence in the United States.
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