How does a direct EB-5 investor get a TEA certified?

The attorney can apply for you.

Your immigration attorney can indeed help you obtain TEA designation for your project location by working with the appropriate state agency that determines TEAs.

Direct EB-5 cases get TEA certification through the same process as regional center EB-5 cases. Typically, each state offers particular steps and requirements on getting TEA certification.

It is not such much as “certified” as designated by the state officials in charge of this. Not every state has such an official, so depending on where you are locating, it may be easy, or difficult to do!

There is no uniform process for obtaining TEA certification letters. Some states do issue TEA certification letters. Where the state does not issue a TEA certification letter, one may have to apply directly to USCIS to receive TEA certification status. Yes, you would need to get your own certification letter if you chose to do a direct EB-5 business. An attorney can perform this task for you.

There are several entities that do this work, including attorneys. Your immigration lawyer should be able to help.

Every state handles these differently.

To get a determination that the investment qualifies to be in a Targeted Economic Area (TEA), you must get a determination from the appropriate authority. In each state the governor has that authority, but typically the governor has delegated that authority to the mayor of the particular city in which you may reside. Each city has a different policy under which they make these determinations. You can go online and most likely find the authority that issues TEAs in the geographical area in which you are located. Yes, you may obtain a TEA determination for a direct EB-5 investment.

For a direct EB-5 investment, there is no formal TEA certification that is required. The EB-5 petition contains supporting documentation to demonstrate that the business is located within a TEA.

There are services that will do it for you at a reasonable rate - check the internet for sites.

It would be incumbent upon the company raising the EB-5 funds to procure the letter from the applicable state's agency or it could hire an economist to procure the letter, even though the investment does not require a full economist report. Many of the EB-5 economists charge a small fee to procure a TEA letter for a direct investment or a regional center project to determine the minimum amount of investment that the EB-5 program requires.