EB-5 High Unemployment Area Requirements

The post-RIA framework uses unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average together with the statutory geographic methodology.

A post-RIA high unemployment area must satisfy the statutory unemployment threshold at the time relevant under the current EB-5 framework. INA section 203(b)(5) requires a weighted average unemployment rate of at least 150 percent of the national average for the qualifying census tract area. The calculation should use reliable and internally consistent labor-force data, and the national comparison should come from the same data source or methodology where required by USCIS instructions. A project should preserve the underlying data, calculation, tract list, and filing-date evidence so the designation can be reproduced rather than relying on a conclusory TEA letter.

The project location and permissible contiguous or directly adjacent census tracts should be analyzed under the current statute and USCIS methodology.

Pre-RIA gerrymandering practices should not be imported into a current project.

Current law limits how census tracts may be combined. The analysis begins with the tract or contiguous tracts in which the new commercial enterprise is principally doing business and may include directly adjacent tracts as permitted by the statute. The project should map each tract, identify adjacency, calculate the weighted unemployment rate, and explain why every included tract fits the statutory geography. Pre-RIA practices that assembled distant or loosely connected areas should not be carried forward into a current filing. The Form I-956F record should allow USCIS to verify the tract configuration and the arithmetic used to reach the required unemployment level.

The statute prohibits the controlling high unemployment designation from being made by state or local officials.

USCIS applies the statutory criteria.

The post-RIA designation is controlled by the Department of Homeland Security rather than by state or local officials. INA section 203(b)(5) expressly prohibits a state or local official from making the controlling high unemployment designation for current cases. State workforce data can still be useful factual evidence, but it does not substitute for the statutory DHS determination. The regional center should therefore present the tract analysis and source data in Form I-956F so USCIS can apply the federal criteria. A historical state TEA letter may provide background for an older project, but it should not be treated as dispositive for a post-RIA filing.

The reduced amount is separate from whether visa numbers are immediately available in the reserved category.

A qualifying investment in a targeted employment area currently uses the reduced statutory amount of $800,000 for petitions filed before the next automatic adjustment takes effect. The reduced amount depends on the investment meeting the targeted employment area requirements; it is not created merely because the project markets itself as high unemployment. Counsel should verify the amount applicable on the petition filing date because Congress provided for automatic future adjustments beginning in 2027. The project file should keep the Form I-956F TEA evidence, investor subscription amount, and petition classification consistent so the reduced threshold is supported by the same geographic analysis throughout the record.

Unused reserved visa rules can affect later fiscal-year availability.

Current Visa Bulletin conditions should be checked at the immigration processing stage.

Ten percent of annual EB-5 visas are reserved for qualifying investors in high unemployment areas. Reserved visa classification is separate from the reduced investment amount, even though both may arise from the same project designation. The investor still must satisfy all other EB-5 requirements, and visa availability can change from month to month. The priority date, country of chargeability, and applicable reserved line should be checked in the current Visa Bulletin when adjustment or consular processing is considered. Unused reserved numbers can carry forward under the statute, so current availability should be evaluated from live Department of State information rather than a prior year’s assumptions.

• Project address
• Census tract identification
• Adjacent tract mapping
• Current unemployment data
• National unemployment benchmark
• Weighted calculation
• I-956F TEA evidence

A high unemployment area package should let USCIS reproduce the designation from source data. Core evidence includes the project address, census tract numbers, a map showing contiguous and directly adjacent tracts used, labor-force and unemployment figures, the national benchmark, the weighted calculation, and the source and date of the data. Form I-956F should identify the designation consistently with the business plan and project location. If the project spans multiple sites or the principal place of business is disputed, the filing should explain the factual basis for the selected tract area. Clear geographic and mathematical support reduces avoidable questions about TEA eligibility.