Southeast Regional Center Reveals How It Maintains 100% Return of Capital and Green Card Approval Rates

Getting legal permanent residency in the US via the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program comes with a degree of risk, as with all investments. For an investor to successfully receive their Green Card, they must satisfy the following conditions – make the necessary investment in a commercial enterprise in the US, with a plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified US workers. If a project fails and is unable to generate jobs, then the application will be denied.

By making a financial investment, there is always a chance that the investor suffers losses and loses the money they invested in the project. However, there are ways to mitigate this risk, which Southeast Regional Center, LLC (SRC) has leveraged to allow it to return 100% of investors’ capital contributions, resulting in 100% approval of all of its adjudicated I-526 and I-829 petitions.

SRC’s stated mission is to reduce investors’ immigration and financial risks by delivering superior EB-5 investment projects in rural targeted employment areas, in compliance with all regulations from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Since receiving approval from the USCIS in 2010, SRC has completed multiple projects, especially in the auto manufacturing sector, which is seeing renewed investment thanks to the ongoing initiatives by the US government to revitalize the domestic vehicle manufacturing industry.

Over the years, SRC has maintained a successful track record of 100% in investment project completion, capital preservation, and green card petition approval – something only a handful of regional centers in the US have achieved.

According to Michael Bowen, CFA, SRC’s Director of Finance, the firm’s track record of success in investment and Green Card petitions stems from its ability to find successful investment projects, as well as being able to spot which projects are most likely to fail, particularly those that were funded prior to the Reform and Integrity Act of 2022.

Bowen adds that most EB-5 investors rarely pay attention to the financial aspects of the investment, as the EB-5 program’s main attraction is the successful issuance of a Green Card at the end of the process. However, he argues that this mentality leaves too much exposure to potential financial calamity. After all, the USCIS requires capital to be placed “at risk,” but that does not mean capital has to be placed in “high-risk” investments.

“If a project fails from a business and financial perspective, will the required jobs be created at

all? While it is estimated that less than 1% of EB-5 investment capital is lost due to fraud, the

percentage lost due to unforeseen financial risks exceeds that amount, resulting in too few or no

qualifying job creation that transforms the financial risk into an immigration risk,” Bowen says.

Data gathered by SRC shows that the majority of the failed or failing projects involve real estate as the primary investment asset and/or collateral for the EB-5 investment. Furthermore, most of these real estate projects involve hotels, resorts, or other hospitality-related assets. Many projects have no other downside protection besides the underlying business or commercial

real estate and most of the recently failed projects depended on local “demand” generators for their financial success – this is especially true for hotels, shopping malls, and other tourist attractions.

In contrast, SRC focuses on rural area projects, which ensures EB-5 investors get priority visa processing – twice as likely as urban real estate projects in high unemployment areas. To date, SRC has launched five projects in collaboration with Ajin and Wooshin USA, which are auto parts manufacturers and exclusive tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers for Hyundai (OTC:HYMTF) and Kia motors in the US. Ajin and Wooshin USA are one of the largest employers in Chambers County, Alabama. These projects have attracted over $54 million in foreign investments and created sufficient qualified jobs to meet the EB-5 requirements. They are also fortified with senior bank loans, minimizing EB-5 reliance and boosting stability.

“Investors must be on alert for key financial disclosures and provisions when considering an EB-5 investment project,” Bowen says. “When in doubt, reach out to a trusted expert advisor (such as an attorney or CPA) to help comb through the documents for these key provisions. Even though the immigration aspects of a project are paramount, be sure to pay proper attention to the financial side of the investment.”

Investing involves risk and your investment may lose value. Past performance gives no indication of future results. These statements do not constitute and cannot replace investment advice.