EB5 Investors Magazine Volume 4 Issue 1 | Page 15

Limiting TEA configurations to census tracts would negatively impact approximately 15 states that currently utilize block groups, with states such as Texas, Utah, and Washington seeing many TEA opportunities disappear. Furthermore, restrictions like those in the bill would no longer allow for the use of other currently used geographic and political subdivisions such as census designated places in California, wards in the District of Columbia, and city community areas in Chicago, all of which are compiled using the same approved federal methodologies. State Designation Authority Removing TEA authorization from the states and shifting the authority to Homeland Security’s USCIS could very well have dire consequences, but this major procedural change seemed to receive very little attention. State labor market information people have the technical expertise and know their local economies. They are best positioned to determine what constraints should be put on TEA formation within their states. USCIS staff does not have the same technical expertise to evaluate thousands of TEA requests and make the proper determinations. Unlike in states where turnaround times are usually a matter of days or weeks and in the worst case scenarios a month or slightly longer, USCIS will not likely be able to meet any reasonable mandated processing times and we would probably be looking at a year or longer for a final determination to be made. This means that investors may not know for a year or more if a project will ultimately qualify as a TEA. USCIS should continue to defer to state determinations of the appropriate boundaries of a geographic or political subdivision that constitutes the TEA. However, USCIS can have final authority and should still ensure compliance with the statutory requirement by reviewing state determinations of the unemp loyment rate and assessing the method by which the state authority obtained the unemployment statistics. Outlying Counties The new concept of an ‘outlying county’ as a rural TEA was another inclusion that seemed to receive no opposition, as it would be beneficial to some special rural interest groups and would have no detrimental impact on urban TEAs. Outlying counties within an MSA have one-quarter or more of its employed residents working in the central counties of Continued to page 14 Site Visits. Audits. Increased Reporting. Compliance Matters. EB-5 Compliance is no longer just about preparing for the I-829. Sure, you need to document investment, flow of funds and job creation for the I-829, and this is thousands of pages, but there are more than 150 categories of documents and data you need to be prepared for USCIS site visits and audits. Do you know what they are? Let our dedicated team of professionals help you design a compliance program and make sure you have what it takes to weather the storm. Klasko Compliance is an NES Financial Medallion Solutions Provider Visit us online at klaskolaw.com PHILADELPHIA NEW YORK WWW.EB5INVESTORS.COM CHICAGO 13