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Jobs in TEA area only?
Question from another immigration attorney:
EB5 Question regarding the targeted employment areas – the regs require that the investment must be made in a new commercial enterprise in a “targeted investment area”. And the definition of targeted investment area is defined by having a high unemployment rate or you also have rural area. Question – for the 10 employees – do they have to be in the same area or if the business in located in the TEA or Rural but jobs are somewhere else? I am thinking that by the definition of TEA and Rural, this would be circumventing the intent of the law?
I assume this is a non-regional center but TEA EB-5 case. The answer is "yes". Since this is a non-regional center EB-5 case, only direct jobs would count; therefore, those direct jobs created should be in the underlying TEA area in which the new commercial enterprise is located. Otherwise, you can have a new commercial enterprise located in Hawaii and the jobs created in California. USCIS would not like that too much.