The sale of EB-5 Regional Centers is a hot-button
issue within the EB-5 program. This is one area of the
program where current guidance leaves much to be
desired. Jeff Campion, Mona Shah and Yi Song offer
differing perspectives on the matter. The opinions
expressed in these articles are those of the authors alone.
Transferability of a Regional
Center and Its Designation
by Jeff Campion
There has been considerable debate as to what
actions a regional center (RC) owner is permitted to
take with his RC. May he sell the designation as an
asset? May he admit projects into the RC? May he
sell the entity that owns the license? This article will
address the transferability of a designated RC by
first looking at the laws that apply in this context,
discussing whether approved RCs are transferrable,
and then concluding.
Jeff Campion
The Laws Relating to Regional Centers
When analyzing a legal issue with a regulatory agency, there
are many sources of law—statutes passed by Congress, regulations passed by the agency in charge of implementing the
statutes (in this case USCIS), cases interpreting the statutes
and the regulations, policy memoranda, and instructions to
the forms used by USCIS.
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EB-5 Regional Centers were established by
the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, created
by Section 610 of Public Law 102-395 (October
6, 1992). The power of the Pilot Program is that
projects associated with an economic unit known
as an RC are permitted to have a less restrictive job
creation requirement through the allowance of indirect job count. The statutes, however, are silent with
respect to the transferability of a designated RC.
The regulations include the requirements to
participate in the Pilot Program, the agency to which the
submission to participate should be directed, an explanation
of what occurs if the submission is denied, and instructions for
how an RC can be terminated. Absent from the termination
section is termination by transferring the designation or selling ownership in the RC.
E B 5 I n v e s to r s M ag a z i n e
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