If an applicant is seeking to get into the Regional Center business or using a regional center for larger projects, the $100,000
cost allocated to building a regional center may seem nominal
compared to the overall costs and future profits of the projects.
Preparing the Form I-924 Application Package
As mentioned above, the key to building a successful regional
center is to create a team with both lawyer and non-lawyer EB-5
subject matter experts. That team can include EB-5 experienced
economists, immigration and securities lawyers, and real estate
finance professionals. Real estate developers and other business
men and women seeking to make a splash in EB-5 via their
first I-924 application need to remember that there is only one
opportunity to make a good first impression. New applicants
should treat this process similar to that of an important sales
call to a new potential customer. In this case, the customer is
the USCIS.
Upon filing the I-924 application, the applicant elects to
include either hypothetical, actual, and/or exemplar project
proposals. An actual project denotes a specific project proposal
to USCIS supported by a Matter of Ho compliant business
plan, and a hypothetical project refers to a project proposal that
is not supported by a Matter of Ho compliant business plan. A
hypothetical project proposal offers USCIS general proposals
and predictions evidencing that the proposed regional center
will more likely than not promote economic growth, improved
regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic
capital investment. An USCIS approved I-924 application
incorporating an actual project receives deference for that project at the I-526 stage. However, approved I-924 applications
incorporating a hypothetical project will not receive deference
as USICS will perform a de novo review of a regional center’s
actual project at the I-526 stage. Exemplar projects are considered the most concrete and finalized regional center projects.
Exemplar approval results in USCIS preapproval for the project.
Thus, at the I-526 stage, the only significant documentation for
USCIS to review is the investor’s source of funds.
Contents of the I-924 Application Package
I-924 application submission packages consisting of actual
and/or exemplar project proposals contain more extensive documentation than hypothetical projects. I-924 applications with
exemplar and/or actual projects should contain the following
fundamental elements:
•
Form I-924;
•
G-28;
•
Cover Letter;
•
Executive Summary;
•
Table of Contents / Index;
•
Operational Business Plan of the Regional Center;
•
Economic Analysis;
•
Organizational Documents (i.e. certificate
of formations, operating agreements);
•
Offerings Documents (Private Placement
Memorandum, Limited Partnership
Agreement, Subscription Agreement, and
if applicable, Escrow Agreement);
•
Management Agreement, if applicable;
•
Project Business Plan(s);
•
Any other necessary exhibits such as
TEA letters and/or bank statements.
Conversely, organizational and transactional documents
contained in an I-924 application for a hypothetical project will
not be reviewed by USCIS since these documents will undergo
de novo review at either the I-526 stage or via a subsequent
exemplar filing.
Form I-924
There are five core parts to the Form I-924. The first part
involves basic biographical data about the regional center
principle, and the second part asks the applicant to indicate
whether the application is an initial application for designation
as a regional center or an amendment to a previously approved
regional center application. For the purposes of this discussion,
this article will not comment on the amendment process and
focus solely on an initial Form I-924 application.
The third part of the form is the heart and soul of the application and answers to this part account for the vast majority
of the supporting evidence of the I-924 application package.
In Section (B) & (C) of Part 3, USICS asks the applicant to
disclose any management company or agencies, regional center
principals, individuals, or entities who are or will be involved in
the management, oversight, an