The Daily, a News Corp. online newspaper, reports on a new USCIS memo issued to EB-5 regional centers is reporting that USCIS warning them that they will more closely be examining job creation claims relating to construction projects. They’re specifically questioning whether construction will result in jobs simply moving locations as opposed to new jobs actually being created.
But the agency also sent a letter last week saying it would be demanding more evidence that certain types of projects, such as office buildings and retail space built for tenants, would actually create new jobs, rather than just provide a new building for existing jobs to move into.
A high-ranking source within the agency indicated that the move could impact 70 pending regional centers across the country that have these type of projects, and perhaps in the neighborhood of $1 billion in construction financing.
For some developers, that construction financing represents a huge discount from what they would have to pay if they were trying to obtain financing through a bank. Developers are not required to pay interest on loans from immigrant investors through the program, or to pay them back if the project fails.