For a long, long period of time, The United States of America has attracted people worldwide who aspire to create better lives. One well-known path to U.S. residency is—the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program—which grants overseas investors, their spouses, and unmarried children under 21 the chance to permanent residency. To qualify, investors must contribute to the US commercial enterprise and generate or preserve ten full-time jobs for U.S. workers through their investment. Due to the high demand for EB-5 visas, some of the countries face significant backlogs in processing petitions, with some applicants waiting years for approval.
To address this, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently offered priority processing for investments made in rural areas and high-unemployment areas (HUAs), a change much needed. This change could allow investors in rural projects to receive a temporary Green Card in less than two years, providing an attractive option for those looking to expedite the process.
The best opportunity for obtaining an EB-5 visa currently lies in rural investments, which account for 20% of allocated visas, compared to just 10% for HUAs, as per financial guidance services company Southeast Regional Center, LLC (SRC). While HUAs experience a significant influx of applications, creating an unofficial backlog, rural areas have less competition, enabling faster visa processing.
The decline in manufacturing-related jobs in most rural areas has further exacerbated poverty and social development issues, which adds on to the above challenges mentioned. The United States government is trying to further bridge the gap between rural and urban areas through targeted investments by reserving 20% of EB-5 visas for rural investments.
SRC highlights that roughly ninety percent of HUA projects have historically focused on real estate—residential and hospitality—with less attention given to industrial and manufacturing ventures. This leaves a largely untapped market with great potential for rural America. Since gaining USCIS approval in 2010 to operate as a Regional Center, SRC has merged EB-5 funds focused on rural manufacturing investments and has expanded its geographic reach to ten states that are strategically located within the automotive manufacturing regions, i.e., Automotive Alley and Southeastern Automotive Corridor.
The team behind SRC has enabled them to create a successful EB-5 program; one that stimulates local economies while supporting national growth. Mainly, a full return on their principal investment will be received by all SRC investors approved for permanent residency. The team includes experts in law, finance, and real estate, along with a network of trusted partners.
Earlier this year, SRC initiated the latest EB-5 fund, with an official announcement in the third month of 2024. The CEO of Southeast Regional Center Moses Choi, shares about this launch, “The new fund, Ajin Fund VI, is dedicated to the development of state-of-the-art body parts of the automotive manufacturing plant in Bulloch County, a rural area in Georgia.” The company is actively raising funds for this project about seventy-nine million USD.
“SRC has always been focused on helping foreign entrepreneurs secure their EB-5 visas as quickly and risk-free as possible while adhering strictly to USCIS regulations, Moses concludes, adding that, “Rural manufacturing projects offer enormous opportunities for investors, particularly those seeking permanent residency through this program, ultimately remodeling U.S. industrial capabilities to strengthen logistics security.”
