Today, Friday, May 13, 2022, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) published the new Form I-956, Application for Regional Center Designation.
All EB-5 stakeholders are encouraged to review the new form and its instructions which are now available on the USCIS website. Note that the instructions specifically state:
An “approved” regional center is an entity designated as a regional center under INA 203(b)(5)(E), effective 60 days after the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, Div. BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. No. 117-103), was enacted on March 15, 2022.
There is also a $17,795 filing fee required with each application for designation.
Last week during its listening session, USCIS announced it would soon publish a new form for entities seeking to designate as a regional center under the new EB-5 reauthorization statute. The agency also announced it on their website just prior to the listening session.
We hope to have a substantive review of the requirements within the form in the coming days. Stay tuned for additional updates.
Update: Form I-956H, Bona Fides of Persons Involved with Regional Center Program, was also published later today as a supplement to Form I-956 and must be completed by “each person involved with a regional center.” EB-5 stakeholders can view the form and its instructions here.
