Job creation is one of the most important factors to consider when selecting an EB-5 real estate project to invest in. USCIS requires all EB-5 visa applicants to create at least 10 jobs with their funds in order to qualify for U.S. Green Cards.
Therefore, an EB-5 investor’s chances of immigrating to the United States with their family largely depend on how many jobs are created by the project they invest in.
When evaluating the various EB-5 projects on the market, prospective EB-5 investors do well to examine each project’s job creation to date and potential to create future jobs.
What is more, EB-5 investors can significantly increase their chances of getting Green Cards by investing in projects that have already created the necessary number of jobs.
EB5AN’s Twin Lakes Georgia, a rural EB-5 project, has achieved this milestone, with all required EB-5 jobs for all investors already created. In this post, we provide an overview of Twin Lakes’s remarkable job creation progress.
First, we explain how EB-5 projects calculate job creation using the Regional Input-Output Modeling System (RIMS II).
How EB-5 Job Creation is Calculated
Types of EB-5 Jobs: Direct, Indirect, and Induced
How the RIMS II Model Calculates EB-5 Job Creation
Twin Lakes Georgia: Monthly EB-5 Job Creation Updates
Twin Lakes Georgia: A Leading Rural EB-5 Project
How EB-5 Job Creation is Calculated
Types of EB-5 Jobs: Direct, Indirect, and Induced
The USCIS Policy Manual sets out the following criteria for EB-5 job creation:
“The investment into a new commercial enterprise must create full-time positions for not fewer than 10 qualifying employees. An employee is defined as a person who provides services or labor for the new commercial enterprise and who receives wages or other remuneration directly from the new commercial enterprise.”
According to this guidance, all EB-5 projects can count full-time employees on their payroll toward fulfilling their investors’ job creation requirements. These positions are known as direct jobs.
However, most EB-5 projects are sponsored by regional centers—entities that manage the flow of EB-5 funding into EB-5 real estate projects.
For regional center-sponsored projects, the USCIS Policy Manual indicates the following: “In the case of the Regional Center Program, an employee also means a person who provides services or labor in a job that has been created indirectly through investment in the new commercial enterprise.”
The agency thus allows regional center projects to count two additional types of employment for their EB-5 investors: indirect and induced jobs.
Indirect jobs are created through an EB-5 project’s positive impact on the local economy, such as the project’s purchases of construction materials and services from local businesses. Induced jobs are created when the labor income generated by the project is spent in the local economy; that is, when the project’s employees or contractors spend their wages in the area.
The bulk of job creation for regional center projects typically comes from indirect and induced positions.
How the RIMS II Model Calculates EB-5 Job Creation
An EB-5 project’s indirect and induced job creation is calculated through economic input/output modeling. Economic input/output models determine an EB-5 project’s economic impact by considering its relationship with the various industries in the local economy.
RIMS II, an input/output model developed by the U.S. Department of Commerce through its Bureau of Economic Analysis, is the most widely accepted tool for calculating EB-5 job creation. Because it is an official government database, EB-5 economists frequently use RIMS II modeling to demonstrate a project’s job creation.
RIMS II calculates a project’s job creation based on its construction spending and payments made to local employees. These inputs are used to create a final demand multiplier.
The final demand multiplier indicates how many jobs will be created by the project for each dollar spent. It comprises all of the project’s indirect and induced job creation.
In many cases, RIMS II modeling estimates between 10 to 15 jobs created for every $1 million spent.
While a project’s EB-5 funds partly cover its construction expenses, all of a project’s spending—including from non-EB-5 sources—counts toward its EB-5 job creation.
In addition, projects whose EB-5 funding makes up a small portion of the overall capital structure usually have a higher ratio of jobs per EB-5 investor.
Each project’s final demand multiplier is unique and, besides construction spending, also depends on the project’s geographic location and industry.
Industry
The nature of a project’s construction activities and the type of structure being built will impact its construction spending—and the resulting final demand multiplier. Further, current wage standards vary across industries, so a project’s industry classification will also impact its EB-5 job creation. An EB-5 project’s industry is determined using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Geographic Location
The population of a project’s location also plays a role in determining the final demand multiplier. Generally, areas with a higher population result in a higher final demand multiplier.
A project’s location includes where it purchases goods and services and where its employees live.
Qualifying Construction Expenditures
Not all of an EB-5 project’s construction expenditures will count toward its indirect and induced job creation.
Most soft and hard construction costs are eligible for EB-5 job creation. Hard construction costs include demolition, excavation, all site work, and materials. Eligible soft costs include design, engineering, architecture, attorney, and marketing fees, as well as furniture, fixtures, and equipment.
On the other hand, USCIS typically does not allow job creation to be calculated based on spending on permits, taxes, government fees, and insurance.
Twin Lakes Georgia: Monthly EB-5 Job Creation Updates
To view the most up to date monthly construction expenditure and EB-5 job creation figures, please visit the Twin Lakes Georgia project page.
With over 2,000 EB-5-eligible jobs as of November 2023, Twin Lakes has already created more than enough jobs for all of its current EB-5 investors.
Therefore, any EB-5 applicant who invests in Twin Lakes today will already have fulfilled the crucial job creation requirement. This significantly increases an EB-5 investor’s chances of getting a U.S. Green Card.
In addition, EB-5 funding makes up a small portion of Twin Lakes’s capital structure, creating a high ratio of jobs per EB-5 investor.
Twin Lakes Georgia: A Leading Rural EB-5 Project
Twin Lakes has quickly become one of the leading rural projects on the EB-5 market.
The Twin Lakes community is already the best-selling active adult housing community in the state of Georgia, with over 580 homes sold as of November 30, 2023. Despite a difficult real estate environment with high interest rates, Twin Lakes’s financially stable homebuyers continue to purchase more units.
The project is developed by the Kolter Group, one of the leading developers in the Southeast.
Through its 26-year history, Kolter has never failed to complete a project or repay a loan. Kolter has invested in projects valued at over $24 billion and has already worked on over 15 previous EB-5 projects with EB5AN. All EB-5 funding in previous EB5AN-Kolter projects has been repaid or remains in good standing.
In addition, Twin Lakes’s location in a rural TEA offers investors the benefit of priority USCIS petition processing.
Many investors in rural EB-5 projects are being approved for their initial Green Cards in as little as 11 months.
In addition, Chinese and Indian investors in rural projects can avoid years of additional processing delays.
A recent investor in Twin Lakes was able to get an employment authorization document (EAD) in only 60 days.
Twin Lakes also offers a high level of financial security, with an I-526E approval refund guaranty and a corporate repayment guaranty for the EB-5 loan. The EB-5 loan is secured by Kolter’s well-capitalized, diversified parent company.
From both an immigration and financial perspective, Twin Lakes offers a rare level of investor security.
We invite you to read the following materials on our site to learn why many EB-5 applicants and their families have decided to invest in Twin Lakes:
Twin Lakes Georgia: A Compelling Rural EB-5 Project
Interviews with EB-5 Investors in Twin Lakes
The Kolter Group: A Developer with 25+ Years of Experience
While job creation is perhaps the most important factor in determining an EB-5 investor’s immigration success, choosing a safe EB-5 investment involves looking at several other aspects of a project.
Schedule a free consultation with EB5AN to learn more about selecting the most reliable EB-5 project and getting U.S. Green Cards as quickly as possible.
