How can I get areas in my county TEA-certified for future EB-5 investments?

If you are in a rural area that is outside the MSA and the population is less than 20,000, you do not need a TEA designation.

Each state has its own certification process, but if the area qualifies as rural it does not need to also be a TEA.

TEAs are determined by rural status or unemployment rate. There is no state certification process for a rural area. It is strictly a matter of the area being outside of an MSA and the population being under 20,000. Obtaining a state TEA certification based upon high unemployment rate can be easy, or it can be tricky, depending upon the situation. If the state already has issued a blanket letter designating certain MSAs, counties and/or cities as TEAs, then it should be easy. If your new commercial enterprise will be located in a census tract or group of census tracts that has a high employment rate, it is a little more complicated. You should consult with an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney who can advise you on the legal requirements and/or economist who can advise on the likelihood of obtaining a state TEA designation for your project.

You have to check with the governor''s office of your state to find out what department is in charge of designating TEAs.

You would need to consult with your state’s Department of Economic Opportunity or a similar organization. A rural area can also qualify for the lower, $500,000 EB-5 investment amount.

TEA''s are based on a political subdivision or a geographical subdivision. The state can designate counties as TEA''s. Alternatively contiguous census tracts can be combined to determine if a particular location is in a TEA. Experienced EB-5 economists can provide verifiable analysis to support a TEA designation. On the basis of the location of the job-creating entity being in a TEA, the investor only has to invest $500,000 (USD).

Your state or county provides customized Targeted Employment Area (TEA) certifications for projects that qualify. Eligible TEAs include metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), counties, cities and census designated places (CDPs). They also include rural areas and individual census tracts with qualifying high unemployment that are not in already-designated metropolitan statistical areas, counties, cities or CDPs. You would have to provide data to the designating body, including a list of census tracts with the most updated unemployment figures demonstrating that the aggregate unemployment rate of those rural census tracts is still above the unemployment threshold based on the most current unemployment figures.