Under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, if an immigrant chooses to invest in a Targeted Employment Area, his or her investment requirement is lowered to a minimum of $500,000. Targeted Employment Areas are defined as areas that, at the time of investment, are considered rural, meaning that the area is outside a metropolitan statistical area (as designated by the Office of Management and Budget) or outside the boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more according to the decennial census, or if the area is considered to be, at the time of the investment, an area experiencing unemployment at least 150 percent of the national average rate. Thus, Congress encourages immigrant investors to invest in areas that may be struggling economically and experiencing high unemployment rates and encourages job creation for Americans living in these areas.

In addition, the new commercial enterprise must be “principally doing business” in the TEA, meaning that this location is where the enterprise is regularly, systematically, and continuously providing goods or services that support job creation. Even if the commercial enterprise provides goods or services in more than one location, it will be considered to be “principally doing business” in the location that is most significantly related to the job creation. According to Matter of Izummi, a decision issued by the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) of USCIS, factors that may be considered in determining whether the enterprise will be considered as “principally doing business” in the TEA include the location of any jobs directly created by the new commercial enterprise, the location of any expenditure of capital related to the creation of jobs, where the new commercial enterprise conducts its day-to-day operations, and where the new commercial enterprise maintains its assets that are utilized in the creation of jobs.

States may specifically designate TEAs provided that these designated areas adhere to USCIS requirements for rural or high unemployment areas. USCIS defers to state determinations of the appropriate boundaries of a geographical or political subdivision that constitutes the targeted employment area. However, for all TEA designations, USCIS must ensure compliance with the statutory requirement that the proposed area designated by the state in fact has an unemployment rate at least 150 percent of the national average rate.

To assist foreign investors, some states, such as California and Washington, list all TEAs on their state websites.