EB5 Investors Magazine Volume 1 Issue 2 | Page 22

The sale of EB-5 Regional Centers is a hot-button issue within the EB-5 program. This is one area of the program where current guidance leaves much to be desired. Jeff Campion, Mona Shah and Yi Song offer differing perspectives on the matter. The opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors alone. Transferability of a Regional Center and Its Designation by Jeff Campion There has been considerable debate as to what actions a regional center (RC) owner is permitted to take with his RC. May he sell the designation as an asset? May he admit projects into the RC? May he sell the entity that owns the license? This article will address the transferability of a designated RC by first looking at the laws that apply in this context, discussing whether approved RCs are transferrable, and then concluding. Jeff Campion The Laws Relating to Regional Centers When analyzing a legal issue with a regulatory agency, there are many sources of law—statutes passed by Congress, regulations passed by the agency in charge of implementing the statutes (in this case USCIS), cases interpreting the statutes and the regulations, policy memoranda, and instructions to the forms used by USCIS. 22 EB-5 Regional Centers were established by the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, created by Section 610 of Public Law 102-395 (October 6, 1992). The power of the Pilot Program is that projects associated with an economic unit known as an RC are permitted to have a less restrictive job creation requirement through the allowance of indirect job count. The statutes, however, are silent with respect to the transferability of a designated RC. The regulations include the requirements to participate in the Pilot Program, the agency to which the submission to participate should be directed, an explanation of what occurs if the submission is denied, and instructions for how an RC can be terminated. Absent from the termination section is termination by transferring the designation or selling ownership in the RC. E B 5 I n v e s to r s M ag a z i n e Continued on page 24