The EB-5 Integrity Fund fee for fiscal year 2025 is due on October 1, 2024. This fee is a requirement for designated regional centers—organizations that help raise funds for foreign investment projects in the U.S. through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.
What Is a Designated Regional Center?
A designated regional center is an organization approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to participate in the EB-5 program. In addition, These centers pool investments from foreign nationals who want to apply for a U.S. green card and channel those funds into U.S. businesses. In return, these businesses must create jobs for U.S. workers, which helps meet the job creation requirement of the EB-5 program.
Regional centers are important because they allow EB-5 investors to count both direct and indirect jobs (jobs created by the economic activity generated from the investment), making it easier to meet the program’s job creation rules.
What Is the EB-5 Integrity Fund?
It was established in 2022, and is managed by USCIS. The fund helps the agency monitor, investigate, and ensure compliance with the rules of the EB-5 program. This includes conducting audits and reviewing the operations of regional centers to ensure they are following all legal requirements.
Who Needs to Pay the Fee?
All designated regional centers are required to pay the annual Integrity Fund fee. The fee amount depends on the number of investors in the regional center’s projects:
- $20,000 for regional centers that had more than 20 investors in their new commercial enterprises during the previous fiscal year.
- $10,000 for regional centers with 20 or fewer investors in that same period.
Key Details About the 2025 Fee Payment
- Due Date: The fee must be paid by October 1, 2024.
- Amount: Most regional centers will pay $20,000, but smaller centers with fewer investors may pay the reduced fee of $10,000.
- Payment Method: Payments should be made via pay.gov. You can make your payment using this link to pay.gov.
- Late Payment: Regional centers that do not pay the fee within 30 days of the due date will incur a late fee. In the past, failure to pay the fee could result in the termination of the regional center’s designation. However, following a recent court decision, regional centers are now protected from losing their approval if they miss the payment deadline.
Stay Compliant and Avoid Delays
To ensure your regional center remains in good standing with USCIS and continues to operate under the EB-5 program, it is crucial to meet the October 1, 2024 deadline for the EB-5 Integrity Fund fee.
Main Purposes of the EB-5 Integrity Fund
- Conduct Investigations: The Fund conducts investigations outside of the United States to ensure that investment funds originate from lawful sources and are obtained through legal means.
- Detect Fraud: It plays a critical role in detecting and investigating fraud or other criminal activities related to the EB-5 program, thereby protecting both investors and the integrity of the program.
- Compliance Monitoring: The Fund helps determine whether regional centers, new commercial enterprises (NCEs), job-creating entities, and immigrant investors comply with U.S. immigration laws.
- Audits and Site Visits: It facilitates audits and site visits to ensure that all parties involved in the EB-5 process adhere to regulatory requirements.
- Additional Activities: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may use the Fund for other activities deemed necessary to maintain the integrity and also the effectiveness of the EB-5 program.
Are there any exceptions to the late fee penalty for regional centers
There are currently no exceptions to the late fee penalty for regional centers regarding the EB-5 Integrity Fund fees. According to the regulations set forth by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Regional centers that fail to pay the required Integrity Fees within 30 days of the due date will face a penalty. If payment is not made within 90 days, USCIS will terminate their designation.
While there have been discussions and petitions from stakeholders advocating for flexibility in allowing late payments, particularly for those regional centers that were unaware of the deadlines, USCIS has not indicated any willingness to change its stance on this matter. Thus, as of now, all regional centers must adhere strictly to the payment deadlines to avoid penalties or termination.
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