Diversification 2/2

Question: In EB-5 Basic Direct can investors, joined together to invest in a business, also diversify their funds into 2 or more businesses?

Answer: An immigrant investor who is not associated with a regional center may deploy capital into a portfolio of businesses, so long as all capital is deployed through a single commercial enterprise and all jobs are created within that commercial enterprise. For example, in an area in which the minimum investment amount is $1,000,000, the investor can satisfy the statute if the commercial enterprise deploys $600,000 toward one business that it wholly owns, and $400,000 toward another business that it wholly owns. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.6(e). (In this instance, the two whollyowned businesses would have to create an aggregate of ten new jobs between them.) An investor cannot qualify, on the other hand, by investing $600,000 in one commercial enterprise and $400,000 in a separate commercial enterprise.

Taken directly from USCIS EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Quarterly Stakeholder Engagement on May 1, 2012.