Being an EB 5 investor, it is highly essential for you to obtain a targeted employment area for your EB 5 project. The investment amount can be from $1.8 million to $900,000 if the project is conducted in a targeted employment area. If you want to get a TEA designation, the EB 5 project must be located in either rural area or in an area where unemployment is high. TEA designation can be requested within the EB-5 investor’s I-526 petition. When it comes to investing in a regional center, you are required to know if their projects are located in a TEA.
Targeted Employment Area – Rural Area Criteria
There is a specific criterion that an EB 5 project location should meet to qualify as a targeted employment area rural area. Rural areas should not be part of a metropolitan statistical area as labeled by the United States of Management and Budget. Besides, they should not be on the outskirts of a town or city that has a population of 20,000 or more residents as determined through the US Census. If the region of the project is a rural area at the time of the EB-5 investment, this will come under the TEA rural area.
Targeted Employment Area – High Unemployment Area Criteria
If you want to get a TEA designation, the region of the project must come under an unemployment area with the rate of at least 150 percent of the United States national average. These locations must be in a country, or metropolitan statistical location, and their population should include 20,000 or more residents. A project can get targeted employment area designation if the principal location of the project is located in a high employment area when the EB 5 investment is made.
Steps to Get TEA Designation
TEA is an abbreviation of the Targeted employment area. It can be explained as part of the I-526 application. The applicant of the EB 5 visa should have sufficient proof that their project is located in any of these locations by submitting a targeted employment area designation letter to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Here is a list of some evidence that can be used to show that the investment will be administrated within a TEA. Check out the tips to get sufficient evidence in order to obtain TEA designation:
- Get in touch with the US Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) office in order to obtain published technical bulletins.
- Acquire a letter from the state government to obtain rural areas or high unemployment area evidence.
- Provide other statistical documentation.
If the investment amount meets the $1.8 million thresholds, no need to involve the state in the entire process. On the other hand, if the investment amount is made at $900,000, it might be required to involve the state, though it is not essential. The process can be followed in any of these two methods:
USCIS: TEA designation by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) needs the applicant to submit evidence that the location of the new business venture has an average unemployment rate of 150 percent of the national average.
State government: The investor should submit a letter from an authorized state government stating the location of their new business venture has been designated a high unemployment area.
Some states provide a certified list of TEA that has already been identified, but certification will be issued on the basis of individuals. These states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
