Founders and Managing Partners of EB5AN
As we pause a moment to look back on 2023, we are proud of what we accomplished and thankful for all the people whom we had the pleasure of working with. We would not be where we are today without our EB-5 investors, business partners, and team. We are grateful for the trust of our EB-5 investors and look forward to a new year full of new opportunities and challenges to overcome.
A Busy 2023: New Projects, More Job Creation, Expanded Regional Center Coverage
This year, EB5AN was one of the most active players in the EB-5 industry. Since the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) passed, we have structured eight Form I-956F project applications and have received several Form I-956F approvals. This was also the first fiscal year in which our regional centers were required to file Form I-956G annual compliance reports, and our team accordingly developed new processes to exceed USCIS’s compliance requirements.
We are also pleased to report that, since the RIA passed, EB5AN-managed EB-5 projects have created over 5,000 EB-5 eligible jobs.
Finally, this year we accomplished a goal long in the making: we expanded our EB-5 regional center coverage to the entire continental US. We are the first company in the history of the EB-5 program to achieve this level of regional center coverage. This accomplishment is a testament to our approach to EB-5 regional center formation and our record of compliance with USCIS. Having our regional center coverage include all areas of the continental US allows our project selection team to identify the highest-quality deals, regardless of their location.
The Rise of Rural
The RIA implemented significant changes to the EB-5 program. Perhaps the single most impactful change was the introduction of rural targeted employment areas (TEAs) with reserved visas and priority Form I-526E processing.
Immediately after the passage of the RIA, most available projects were in urban TEAs. Many of these deals were available prior to the RIA and quickly re-entered the EB-5 market. We believe the immediate rush into urban TEAs has subsided, and now more investors are choosing rural TEA projects given their significant post-RIA advantages.
Rural TEA projects offer EB-5 investors many unique benefits. For rural projects, Form I-956F applications and investor Form I-526E petitions are being approved quickly. We have received multiple I-956F approvals for our projects, including for our Twin Lakes Georgia project. Hundreds of EB5AN investors have received employment authorization and travel documents through concurrent filing since the RIA was passed.
We believe rural TEA projects will remain viable for many years to come. Unless demand significantly increases for rural EB-5 projects from China and India, the rural category is very unlikely to become backlogged soon. We expect this will provide stability to the global EB-5 market.
EB5AN Project Repayment and Returns to EB-5 Investors
This year, several EB5AN-managed EB-5 projects received repayments on both loan and equity investments. Two of these projects, VUE (Loan) and Saltaire (Equity), received an on-time and full return of invested capital.
Because of these repayment events, we made significant distributions to our EB-5 investors. In our Saltaire (Equity) project, over $1.5 million in preferred returns was distributed to our EB-5 equity investors. At the end of 2023, we launched a nearly identical project to Saltaire (Equity), our new Boynton Beach (Equity) EB-5 project.
The Evolving EB-5 Investment Landscape
Before the RIA, the EB-5 market was dominated by one-size-fits-all EB-5 projects. The standard offering was mezzanine debt for large real estate developments. This was due to various factors (EB-5 requirements, capital markets, etc.). Since the passage of the RIA, however, this has begun to change.
With the changes of the RIA, a range of EB-5 investment options are now viable.
Following are the key factors causing the market to evolve:
- Reserved visa categories for urban TEA, rural TEA, and infrastructure projects
- Concurrent adjustment of status for EB-5 investors already in the US on another visa
- Priority Form I-526E processing for investors in rural TEA projects
- New policy facilitating shorter investment durations
We are pleased to lead the market in creatively structuring a wider array of EB-5 projects to fit diverse investor profiles. We recognize that every EB-5 investor is different and has different priorities. Features that appeal to one investor may not be as important to another. We are proud to now offer rural and urban TEA projects structured as loan and equity investments with standard and shorter target holding periods.
Goals for 2024
Our hope for EB5AN is that we continue to offer exceptional value to EB-5 investors through high-quality investment offerings and increased transparency.
We pride ourselves on providing high-quality investments with enhanced immigration and financial safety features. We intend to continue to provide a wide array of best-in-class projects. We believe investors deserve a menu of options that meet their unique needs, regardless of their country of birth and investment goals.
We will also continue to provide more transparency on our own projects and encourage more transparency in the industry at large. We will strive to lead the industry as it rapidly adapts to evolving market conditions and investor needs.
Building on our numerous successful events in 2023, we will continue to offer in-person seminars, in-person EB-5 project events, and online webinars. We enjoy connecting with EB-5 industry professionals and investors at these events, and we look forward to more opportunities to do so this year. If you share our core values—our commitment to excellence and transparency—please reach out to us. We would be delighted to work with you in 2024.
Our Unwavering Commitment to Excellence
Most of all, we are thankful for our team, the immigration attorneys who work closely with us, our overseas partners, the developers who trust us with the capital needs of their projects, and the investors who rely on us for successful immigration and to keep their hard-earned capital safe.
If you are interested in having a conversation about the EB-5 program or EB5AN and its services, we would be happy to speak to you personally. Our goal is to equip you with a solid understanding of the EB-5 program so you can carefully evaluate each investment opportunity. This will allow you to make a fully informed investment decision with high chances of immigration and financial success.
Please schedule a call or reach out directly by email to Sam.Silverman@EB5AN.com, or send a text or a WhatsApp message to +1 (561)-386-5356.
We wish you all a happy and successful 2024.
Very truly yours,
Samuel B. Silverman and Michael B. Schoenfeld
Founders and Managing Partners
EB5AN
