I-924 Application

This form has been replaced with Form I-956 as of April 2022.

I-924 Application Summary

• Filed by U.S. businesses that want to become EB-5 Regional Centers
• Filed by immigration attorney with help from other experts
• $17,795 filing fee
• Approval usually takes between 62 and 115.5 months
• Link to the form on the USCIS website

What is the I-924 application?

The I-924, Application for Regional Center Under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, must be filed with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and approved in order for the regional center to operate legally. Once the application is approved, regional center designation is granted and the EB-5 Regional Center can start receiving foreign capital investment in order to facilitate EB-5 projects.

The I-924 application can also be filed by existing regional centers that wish to amend their original designation or seek exemplar, project pre-approval. Such amendments include changes to the regional center’s geographic area, organizational structure, or to investment project business plans/ NAICS code designations. Regional center designation can be sought by a partnership, governmental agency, or by any other existing business entity within the United States. As of Nov. 4, 2019, there are 811 approved regional centers.

Regional Center applications, approvals, and denials

*Q1, Q2

Data from USCIS Performance and Analysis Systems and California Service Center

I-924 Requirements

There are many pieces of evidence that must be submitted along with the I-924 regional center application. The forms of required evidence vary depending on the specific EB-5 project but generally include:

• Requirement: the regional center must focus on a particular geographic location
  Evidence: detailed map of the proposed regional center location

• Requirement: the regional center must prove that 10 fulltime jobs will be created by each of its EB-5 investors
  Evidence: economic report, business plan, financial projections/ pro formas demonstrating how funds will be spent, SEC/ offering documents including private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, due diligence questionnaires/ accredited investor questionnaires, LP or LLC agreement for the EB-5 investment vehicle

• Requirement: description of the promotional activities of the proposed regional center
  Evidence: detailed description of past, current and future promotional activities; budgets for promotional activities; evidence of funds that have been allocated to promotional activities; marketing and operational plan of how the regional center will attract investors; description of how the regional center will ensure that all investments come from lawful sources

• Requirement: proof that the regional center will be compliant with all EB-5 regulations
  Evidence: documentation of the business structure of both the regional center and the new commercial enterprises that will be affiliated with the regional center, which can include articles of incorporation; drafts of investment agreements; escrow agreement; investment offering letter; contracts, agreements, or memorandums made with organizations that will engage in activities on behalf of the regional center

Filing the I-924

The I-924 application is typically filed by immigration attorneys, with the help of corporate & securities attorneys, economists, accountants and business plan writers. You may access our EB-5 professional directories to contact these professionals directly.

The filing fee for the I-924 application is $17,795. The application is submitted to the USCIS California Service Center. The processing time for the I-924 application currently takes between 62 and 115.5 months, although it can take longer. USCIS sometimes requests additional information from the I-924 applicant. The regional center must also file an I-924A Supplement for each fiscal year following the initial approval. The I-924A proves that the regional center has followed all EB-5 program regulations and is still eligible for regional center designation.