On August 23, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published an updated edition of Form I-956G, Regional Center Annual Statement.
All approved regional centers seeking to keep their designation under the EB-5 Regional Center Program must use this form to provide the required information, certifications, and evidence to support their continued eligibility for regional center designation.
Form I-956G is required to be submitted for each federal fiscal year (October 1 through September 30) on or before December 29 of the calendar year in which the federal fiscal year ended.
Regional centers with designation letters dated on or before September 30 must file this form on or before December 29 of the same calendar year, whereas those with a designation letter dated on or after October 1 must file this form on or before December 29 of the following calendar year.
What is Form I-956G?
How Do EB-5 Regional Centers Work?
What Does Form I-956G Require from Regional Centers?
Why is it Crucial for Regional Centers to File Form I-956G Early?
What is Form I-956G?
In keeping with the objectives of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) that introduced consequential reforms in the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, USCIS released Form I-956G in June 2022 as a means to promote compliance of all entities involved with the EB-5 Program.
It is a supplemental document to Form I-956, which is the new form for requesting designation as a regional center under the EB-5 program.
Form I-956G replaced Form I-924A (Annual Certification of Regional Center), which EB-5 regional centers were required to submit in order to remain designated for participation in the program.
Form I-956G incorporates stricter statutory reporting and certification requirements for regional centers to remain eligible for the EB-5 program at the end of each fiscal year. These measures aim to increase the transparency of regional centers and, in turn, maintain investors’ confidence in the program.
How Do EB-5 Regional Centers Work?
The EB-5 program, administered by USCIS, was introduced by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by immigrant investors. It enables foreign nationals and their eligible dependent family members (the spouse and unmarried children under 21) to obtain lawful permanent residency in the United States by investing in a commercial enterprise and creating 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.
In 1992, Congress created the EB-5 Regional Center Program to encourage participants to invest in projects associated with specially designated regional centers.
An EB-5 regional center is a public or private economic unit, approved and regulated by USCIS, involved with promoting economic growth, job creation, and regional productivity in the United States.
Regional centers are authorized to invest pooled capital in an EB-5 project, also known as a new commercial enterprise (NCE), from multiple foreign investors who wish to obtain permanent residency in the United States through investment.
Acting as a service agent between investors and EB-5 project developers, the regional center sets up an investment fund, and investors buy equity stakes in this fund. The fund then either loans money to or buys equity in a job-creating entity (JCE). Finally, the JCE uses the fund’s investment to create employment by deploying the capital into a project.
Most immigrant investors prefer regional center projects due to various factors, such as the consideration for direct, indirect, and induced jobs toward the total minimum job creation requirement.
What Does Form I-956G Require from Regional Centers?
Form I-956G seeks substantial information (with evidence) from regional centers, including the following:
- Total investor capital invested in the regional center and its associated NCEs and JCEs.
- Any material litigation or bankruptcy proceedings pending (or resolved during the preceding fiscal year) involving the regional center or its affiliated NCEs and JCEs.
- Policies and procedures in place to ensure compliance with federal labor laws.
- Detailed information about each NCE sponsored by the regional center and each capital investment project undertaken by such NCE with active EB-5 investors.
- Accounting details of the aggregate capital investment over the lifespan of the project.
- Evidence showing that the entire investment capital has been committed to the project, with details of the flow of capital from the NCE to JCE and how it was used.
- Progress made toward the completion of the project.
- Total number of direct jobs created or preserved.
- Description and amount of all fees collected, accounting of entities that received such fees, and purpose for which the fees were collected.
- Separate information on bank accounts set up by each NCE and affiliated JCEs for deposit and maintenance of the investor capital.
Notably, an important clarification in the updated Form I-956G is that regional centers must complete Attachment 1 of the form for each NCE and capital investment project that has “active EB-5 investors” during the applicable reporting period. That is, all projects that have investors who have filed an I-526/I-526E, and/or investors who have become conditional permanent residents but have not filed their I-829 petitions during fiscal year 2022 must file Attachment 1 by December 29, 2023.
Why is it Crucial for Regional Centers to File Form I-956G Early?
Due to the extensive statutory requirements stipulated in Form I-956G that might take some time to put together, it is best for regional centers to start preparing Form I-956G as early as possible. Failure to file the form within the due date can result in sanctions, including the termination of the regional center’s designation.
Regional centers must diligently collect and prepare the requisite information while the records are still available and ensure the accuracy of all statements and the validity of certifications.
The form must be accompanied by the appropriate filing fee and supporting evidentiary documents.
For personalized guidance on preparing Form I-956G, schedule a free consultation with EB5AN.
