Can an enterprise have more than one direct EB-5 investor?
Direct EB-5 allowed pooled EB-5 investments prior to March 15, 2022, but not since then. Today, an enterprise seeking more than one EB-5 investor must have a regional center sponsor. Direct EB-5 only allows for one EB-5 investor per enterprise. (The direct enterprise may have other investors who are not seeking EB-5 benefits.)
To quote from the USCIS Policy Manual 6 USCIS PM G Chapter 2(C)(2):
2. Pooled Investments in Original EB-5 Program
For petitions filed before March 15, 2022, a new commercial enterprise may be used as the basis for the petitions of more than one standalone immigrant investor. For petitions filed on or after March 15, 2022, pooled investments with more than one EB-5 investor are only permitted under the regional center program.[96] For petitions filed before March 15, 2022, each standalone immigrant investor must invest the required amount of capital and each immigrant investor’s investment must result in the required number of jobs. Furthermore, the new commercial enterprise can have owners who are not immigrant investors provided that the sources of all capital invested are identified and all invested capital has been derived by lawful means.[97]
To quote from the USCIS EB-5 Questions and Answers page:
How is USCIS treating pooled standalone cases (for example, cases where multiple petitioners have invested into the same new commercial enterprise that is not associated with a regional center)?
Pooled standalone Form I-526 petitions are not allowed under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA); therefore, we will reject any such petition based on a pooled, non-regional center investment filed on or after March 15, 2022.
We will adjudicate pooled standalone cases filed before March 15, 2022 (Pre-RIA), based on eligibility requirements at the time such petitions were filed.
