Infrastructure project

What it decides

The statute sets elements that must all hold at once: the capital investment project sits in a filed or approved business plan; it is administered by a governmental entity, which the statute illustrates with a federal, state or local agency or authority; that same governmental entity is the job-creating entity, and it contracts with a regional center or new commercial enterprise to receive the capital investment under the regional center program; and the money is financing for maintaining, improving, or constructing a public works project. The definition is narrow in one specific way. Because the governmental entity must itself receive the capital as the job-creating entity, a government that only issues permits, leases land or awards a grant to a private developer does not bring the project within the definition. The route belongs to the regional center program alone. The definition requires the capital to be received under that program, and USCIS states that a standalone investor cannot establish eligibility through an infrastructure project, so it is closed to a Form I-526 filed outside a regional center. USCIS decides the question when it adjudicates Form I-956F, and applies the option to regional center petitions filed on or after 14 May 2022. An infrastructure project is an alternative path to $800,000 rather than an exception to that figure, since the same $800,000 applies to a targeted employment area. Investors in infrastructure projects draw on the 2 percent visa set-aside. The $800,000 adjusts for the first time on 1 January 2027, when it becomes 75 percent of the standard investment amount.

Governed by 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(D)(iv) (definition of infrastructure project); 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(B)(iii)(I) (DHS determines whether a project meets the definition); 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(B)(i)(I)(cc) (2 percent set-aside); 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(C)(ii) ($800,000 for a targeted employment area or an infrastructure project); 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(C)(iii)(II) (adjustment from 1 January 2027 to 75 percent of the standard amount); USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6, Part G, Chapter 2, Section A(6), cited as 6 USCIS-PM G.2(A)(6) (https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-g-chapter-2)

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into infrastructure project rather than mentioning it.

• Integrating EB-5 into U.S. Infrastructure Plans
• Infrastructure Projects in EB-5: Understanding the New Category
• Visa Set-Asides (Rural, Urban, Infrastructure): How They Work
• How EB-5 Funds U.S. Development: Notable Projects and Contributions