Regional Centers were first authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1993, under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program (the “Regional Center Program”), to administer and provide oversight within USCIS designated geographical regions of the EB-5 Program.
 
A significant advantage of the Regional Center Program over the general EB-5 Program is that investors who participate through a USCIS designated Regional Center are subject to a much less restrictive new job creation requirement. Regional Center Program investors, like those in the general EB-5 Program, may qualify for EB-5 visas by presenting evidence that their investment will result in the creation of at least ten new jobs. However, only investors participating in the EB-5 Program through designated Regional Centers are permitted by USCIS to include jobs indirectly created as a result of the investment, in addition to those jobs directly created.  This Regional Center Program advantage increases the number of jobs that may be counted for purposes of meeting the EB-5 Program requirements for each investor, and thus reduces the risk that a particular new commercial enterprise might fall short of its job creation goals and jeopardize the investor’s right to his or her unconditional permanent residency visa. This is a major reason why the great majority of EB-5 Program investors choose to invest through the Regional Center Program rather than attempting to make a direct EB-5 Program investment.
 
The Regional Center Program is also well suited for investors who do not wish to actively participate in the day-to-day management of a new business. The EB-5 Program allows investors to be passive, requiring only minimal management policy participation, which is good news for foreigners who are not that familiar with US laws, regulations and business environment. EB-5 Program investors are free to live anywhere they wish in the U.S.- they are not required to reside in the same location as the enterprise in which they invest.