A State’s Designation of a Targeted Employment Area

The regulation provides that a state government may designate an area within its boundaries as a targeted employment area based on high unemployment. Before the state may make such a designation, an official of the state must notify USCIS of the agency, board, or other appropriate governmental body of the state that will be delegated the authority to certify that the geographic or political subdivision is a high unemployment area. The state may then send a letter from the authorized body of the state certifying that the geographic or political subdivision of the metropolitan statistical area or of the city or town with a population of 20,000 or more in which the enterprise is principally doing business has been designated a high unemployment area.

Consistent with the regulation, USCIS is to give deference to the state’s designation of the boundaries of the geographic or political subdivision that will be the targeted employment area. There is no provision that allows a state to designate a rural area.

Taken from USCIS Policy Memorandum regarding EB-5 Adjudications Policy on November 9, 2011.