Rural TEA EB-5 Projects in Alabama

EB5AN’s EB5AN Southeast Regional Center for Alabama

EB5AN has established the EB5AN Southeast Regional Center to provide EB-5 visa applicants with best-in-class investment opportunities throughout the entire state of Alabama. The EB5AN Southeast Regional Center is designed to sponsor EB-5 investment projects in all 67 counties in Alabama. (The EB5AN Southeast Regional Center is pending USCIS approval to cover Alabama. Approval is expected in 2023).

Alabama’s strong economy makes it an ideal location for rural TEA projects.

EB5AN-sponsored rural targeted employment area (“TEA”) projects in Alabama provide EB-5 investors with a high level of both immigration and financial safety. And a rural TEA investment is one of the fastest ways for immigrant investors to relocate to the United States with their families.

EB5AN has helped more than 2,000 families start on the immigration process toward an EB-5 Green Card. Many of these families made investments in rural TEA projects.

Foreign investors looking for a quick way to immigrate to the United States as permanent residents are invited to contact EB5AN for more information on available rural TEA projects.

What is a Rural TEA?

In the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, TEAs are areas that show a significant need for economic development. These areas are the intended target for EB-5 capital funding. An area may qualify as a TEA either because of its high unemployment rates or rural status.

EB-5 projects located in rural TEAs are quickly gaining more importance in the EB-5 industry. Rural TEA projects offer many incentives for investors. These incentives were introduced by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (the “RIA”).

An EB-5 project’s location qualifies as a rural TEA if it meets the following criteria:

• Does not border a municipality with a population of 20,000 or more
• Does not fall within a metropolitan statistical area
• Does not have a population of 20,000 or more

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) is responsible for determining whether or not an area qualifies as a TEA. Foreign investors, however, must prove to USCIS that the project he or she invested in is located in a rural TEA. When an EB-5 applicant submits his or her Form I-526E, he or she must include relevant demographic statistics that prove the project is in a rural TEA.

USCIS accepts data from the latest 10-year national census and data from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget as valid indicators of rural TEA status. These statistics must be current as of the date an investor submits his or her Form I-526E. If the demographic information changes before the investor’s Form I-526E is filed, USCIS may not consider it valid proof of rural TEA status.

EB5AN’s free TEA map instantly shows whether any location in the United States qualifies as a rural TEA. The TEA map uses the latest demographic statistics.

Why Invest in a Rural TEA Project?

The standard minimum amount for an EB-5 investment is $1,050,000. Foreign investors who choose to invest in TEA projects are eligible to make a reduced investment of only $800,000.

A major benefit of investing in rural TEA projects, specifically, is the ability to get a Green Card more quickly. The immigration process is sped up in two ways: through priority processing of Form I-526E and through access to reserved visas.

Priority processing of Form I-526E means fewer delays for rural TEA investors. This perk is especially valuable given the trend of rising processing times and is only available for those who invest in rural TEAs.

Under the RIA, 20% of the annual number of EB-5 visas are reserved for investors in rural TEA projects. As long as these reserved visas remain available, rural TEA investors will be able to apply for their EB-5 visas upon receiving Form I-526E approval.

Access to these reserved visas especially benefits investors from countries undergoing visa retrogression. Retrogression occurs when a country has more EB-5 investors than it has available EB-5 visas. In such cases, investors often must wait many additional months—often years—before they can apply for and receive their Green Cards.

The only way for investors from retrogressed countries to avoid these delays is to obtain a reserved visa. In other words, while the supply of reserved rural TEA visas lasts, a foreign national who invests in a rural TEA project will have access to an EB-5 visa even if his or her country is in visa retrogression.

Access to reserved rural TEA visas currently represents a major opportunity for Chinese, Indian, and Vietnamese EB-5 investors who do not already live in the United States under another visa.

Why Invest in a Rural TEA Project in Alabama?

According to the U.S. Census, Alabama has a population of approximately 5,039,877. Of this, approximately 2,314,723 people are in the civilian labor force: 2,190,915 employed and 123,808 unemployed.

Alabama’s GDP per capita is $49,027.00.

Alabama’s Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the Civil Rights Historic District are the top attraction in the state, drawing tourists and locals alike with its in-depth examination of the Civil Rights Movement. Civil Rights memorials and landmarks are a big draw elsewhere in the state, such as the Rosa Parks Library and Museum and the Freedom Riders Museum in Montgomery, and the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma. Additionally, Alabama’s state parks attract beachgoers and hikers alike, from Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores— with its miles of sandy beaches— to the rocky hills and stunning waterfalls of Cheaha State Park.

Rural TEA Counties in Alabama

Alabama is one of the best locations for rural TEA EB-5 projects.

Project locations in the following counties in Alabama are generally eligible as rural TEAs. This list is a useful way to find potential sites for rural projects.

Foreign investors should also be sure to check the relevant population data for a given location. As noted above, rural TEAs cannot be located in metropolitan statistical areas. They also cannot border or be located in a municipality with a population of 20,000 or more.

A best practice followed by many in the EB-5 industry is to check whether the project’s address qualifies as rural on EB5AN’s free TEA map. This map uses all relevant population data to determine whether an area qualifies as a rural TEA.

• Autauga
• Baldwin
• Barbour
• Bibb
• Blount
• Bullock
• Butler
• Chambers
• Cherokee
• Chilton
• Choctaw
• Clarke
• Clay
• Cleburne
• Coffee
• Colbert
• Conecuh
• Coosa
• Covington
• Crenshaw
• Cullman
• Dale
• Dallas
• DeKalb
• Elmore
• Escambia
• Fayette
• Franklin
• Geneva
• Greene
• Hale
• Henry
• Jackson
• Lamar
• Lawrence
• Limestone
• Lowndes
• Macon
• Marengo
• Marion
• Marshall
• Monroe
• Perry
• Pickens
• Pike
• Randolph
• Russell
• St. Clair
• Sumter
• Talladega
• Tallapoosa
• Walker
• Washington
• Wilcox
• Winston