WE ENCOURAGE QUESTIONS
These are some of the questions we get asked most frequently. If we missed something you're curious about, contact us. We love hearing from our customers.
New Course Enterprises fully integrated development, investment, and construction company. Additionally, New Course Enterprises owns and operates a USCIS-approved EB-5 Regional Center that covers the entire State of California.
The United States Congress created the EB-5 Program in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. Under this program, foreign-national entrepreneurs and their families are eligible to become permanent residents of the United States if they make the necessary investment in a new commercial enterprise ("NCE") in the United States and plan to create or preserve ten permanent, full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers. The program is known as “EB-5” due to the visa category (Employment-Based Immigration: Fifth Preference) under which the investors apply.
The program has expanded substantially since its inception, with Congress adding the Immigrant Investor Program, also known at the Regional Center Program. This program provides EB-5 visas for participants who invest capital through “Regional Centers.” A Regional Center is an investment management firm approved by the U.S. government based on proposals for promoting economic growth.
Investing capital through a Regional Center provides several significant benefits to entrepreneurs seeking U.S. residency through the EB-5 Program.
The most important advantage is the ability to count direct job, asd well as indirect and induced jobs, while the direct investment program allows immigrants to count only direct jobs. Direct job creation is a result of an investment that creates or preserves ten actual, identifiable jobs over a two-year period.
Indirect and induced jobs, meanwhile, are those shown to have been created collaterally, or as a result of, capital invested in a commercial enterprise affiliated with a Regional Center by an EB-5 investor.
Further, the Regional Center Program relieves investors of the responsibility to demonstrate that employees have been hired directly; the burden of proving job creation is passed to the Regional Center.
Our team uses analyses conducted by distinguished economists to establish, on investors’ behalf, that jobs were created by the venture.
On November 21st, 2019, USCIS changed the parameters of the EB-5 Program, which included the investment minimum required by EB-5 investors.
The minimum investment required for an EB-5 Project located in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA)—defined as a rural area or a region with high unemployment—is $900,000 USD.
For all EB-5 Projects that do not fall within an TEA, the investment minimum is $1,800,000 USD.
The United States extends several visa options to prospective immigrants. The EB-5 Immigrant Investment Program offers these advantages over some other opportunities:
The Whole Family, One Investment: Investors, their spouses, and their children under the age of 21 years can receive U.S. green cards (for permanent residence) by funding a single project with an investment of as little as $900,000.
First-Class Education: Holders of a green card may attend domestic universities at tuition rates reserved for U.S. citizens.
Exceptional Healthcare: Program participants may access the same first-rate healthcare available to U.S. citizens.Endless Possibilities: EB-5 investors may live, work, and retire anywhere in the United States. And they can easily travel to and return from other countries. THey can also access the U.S. banking system, which they can utilize to purchase a property orfinance a business, among many other things.
No Language Requirements: English fluency is not necessary to participate in the EB-5 program.
Passive Investment: We manage your investment and all aspects of the project on your behalf.
You
will need to retain U.S. immigration counsel to prepare and file your I-526
Petition, then your I-829 Petition about 20 months after your I-526 Petition is
approved. Other than the EB-5 Project,
your Immigration Attorney is the most important decision you will make during
this process.
How
can we help?
We have an existing network of experienced Immigration Attorneys who specialize in EB-5 immigration matters called our Preferred Immigration Counsel Network. At your request, we can introduce you directly to several attorneys from various firms to see which of them you’d like to select.
We are a full-service EB-5 asset management firm that exclusively represents the EB-5 investors for each EB-5 Project.
Our primary responsibilities are:
Our goal is to represent you so you can feel confident that you've invested in the right EB-5 Project and comfortable knowing we are monitoring all aspects of the process on your behalf.
New Course Enterprises entered into the EB-5 market as an asset manager, we recognized a glaring problem that we felt presented an opportunity for us to build a business around in order to solve. That problem was EB-5 investors were not being offered investment structures which produces a return-on-investment that they would get in the exact same project if they were a private, non-EB-5 investor.
We then asked: "Why is that?"
The answer is quite unfortunate: Regional Centers and developers understood that EB-5 investors' primary motivation is getting their Green Card, not necessarily generating a decent return-on-investment. Accordingly, the Regional Centers and Developers essentially are exploiting EB-5 investors by using their capital at very low interest rates relative to what they would have to pay a non-EB-5 investor.
This "spread" between what the Regional Centers and Developers pay the EB-5 investor and what the market-rate cost of that capital would be increases the profitability of the Regional Centers and Developers, all at the expense of the EB-5 Investors who, after all, all taking almost all of the risk.
Our EB-5 Projects offering annual Return-on-Investment between 5% - 15%+ per year, depending on the type of EB-5 Project you invest in and the specific part of the capital stack you invest in within that Project.
| Market-Rate Annual ROI | PVE EB-5 Annual ROI | Normal EB-5 Project Annual ROI | |
| Mezzanine Debt | 7% - 10% | 5% - 7% | 0.25% - 1% |
| Preferred Equity | 12% - 15% | 7% - 10% | 1% - 4% |
| Common Equity | 15%+ | 12%+ | 5% |
By providing EB-5 investors the ability to achieve a return-on-investment that is much closer to the market-rate, we simultaneous differentiate ourselves within the EB-5 project community, attract more sophisticated EB-5 investors who are sensitive to how their money is invested from a risk vs. reward perspective, and end the era where EB-5 investors were exploited and forced into EB-5 projects that do not produce an adequate return-on-investment.
Recession-Resistant Project is an EB-5 project that does not rely on the health of the broader economy to be successful. For example, our University of California, Merced off-campus student housing project will perform under any economic conditions since students will continue to attend the University, despite macroeconomic factors such as GDP growth, wage growth, discretionary income levels, unemployment rates, interest rates, stock market performance, etc..
Our Recession-Resistant Projects are structured to protect the EB-5 investor’s principal investment, as well as delivery steady returns over the life of the investment.
Here is the full breakdown of the fees you can expect to incur in additional to your $800,000 capital investment:
Additional notes on costs and fees:
The Administrative Fees are due prior to filing your I-526 Petition being filed. The Fees are used by New Course Enterprises to fund expenses over the duration of the investment to ensure the EB-5 Projects are being run in compliance with USCIS regulations.
These fees are due upfront for the I-526 Petition, then the additional fee for the I-829 will be due when you file your I-829 Petition approximately 20 months after the approval of your I-526 Petition.
We have a set of Preferred Immigration Attorneys from various law firms who have successfully filed I-526 Petitions for our EB-5 Projects. We trust them and prefer that you work with one of them so we can feel comfortable in the quality of your I-526 Petition.
We do, however, work with any immigration attorney that you select to represent you.
This is a fee paid directly to USCIS and is due at the time of filing. Your immigration lawyer will assist you in properly including this in your I-526 Petition.
This is a fee paid directly to USCIS and is due at the time of filing. Your immigration lawyer will assist you in properly including this in your I-829 Petition
The Flex-Financing Program is an 18-month deposit program offered exclusively for PVE Projects where an EB-5 investor can file their I-526 Petition for their EB-5 Visa with as little as $108,333 to begin.
On November 21st, 2019, USCIS, among other changes, increased the investment minimum from $500,000 to $900,000 for TEA Projects. We believe these changes substantially reduces the total potential EB-5 applicants, especially if the EB-5 investor was required to have the full $900,000 in cash to file their I-526 Petition in order to establish a Priority Date.
To continue to encourage and enable job-creation in the United States through the EB-5 Program and to further PVE's mission to innovate within the EB-5 industry, we saw this program as necessary and vital.
You would be able to file immediately upon depositing the initial deposit into escrow.
Yes. USCIS clearly states that, “You may file this petition for yourself if you have invested or are actively in the process of investing the required investment amount in a new commercial enterprise (NCE).” In order to ensure that USCIS knows that you are “actively in the process” of investing the $900,000, we would assist you in creating a customized “Estimated Schedule of Funds Delivery” financial plan and can also provide an immigration law firm that has experience substantiating your intended source of funds to ensure the full plan will meet USCIS requirements.
You must have a net worth of at least $900,000 USD. It can be a combination of liquid and illiquid assets.
Yes, you may use a gift in order to finance your EB-5 investment. However, the details of the gift (person, timing, source of their funds, etc.) would need to be solidified prior to filing the I-526 petition as this would need to be included in the Source of Funds.
Each deposit would be held at a third-party escrow account for 5 business days, then immediately released into the Project so it can begin generating ROI.
You would not be able to withdraw the amount that was invested into the Project until the term of the investment ended, which is typically 5-7 years.
Yes, you may invest the remaining capital due at a faster rate than the timeline you committed to originally.
The EB-5 Investor Loan Program is a financing program offered exclusively by Playa Vista Equities where EB-5 investors can receive a loan of up to $450,000 for their $900,000 EB-5 investment.
All of the following requirements must be met in order to qualify for the Loan Program:
The interest rate will depend on the quality and amount of the collateral.
Step 1: Fill out our EB-5 Green Card Loan preliminary application. Our underwriting team will need at 7 days to evaluate your application to see if you pre-qualify.
Step 2: If pre-approved, schedule a call with our EB-5 Green Card Loan specialists to go over your loan options.
Step 3: With the help of your EB-5 Green Card Loan Specialist, select one of our pre-approved EB-5 projects
Step 4: Finalize EB-5 project selection, sign loan paperwork, and create your PVE EB-5 Investor Account.
Step 5: Retain your EB-5 immigration counsel to prepare I-526 paperwork.
Step 6: Wire your capital into EB-5 escrow account.
Step 7: Once escrow company certifies your capital has arrived, we will disperse your loan proceeds to theEB-5 project escrow account.
Step 8: Once the capital has arrived in Escrow, you can file your I-526 Petition.
Step 9: As the Project disperses profits to the EB-5 investor per the terms of their investment, part of all of the profits generated will be used to pay the interest expense.
Step 10: Once the term of the investment is over and capital is returned to EB-5 investors, the proceeds from the liquidation will be used to retire the principal balance on the loan before any incremental profits are distributed to the EB-5 Investor.
The underwriting fee is due prior to closing of the loan. The Annual Redetermination fee is due annually. You may elect to roll each of these fees into the principal of the Loan instead of paying it at the scheduled time.
For pre-approved EB-5 projects: 14 - 28 days
Yes. The dividends from the EB-5 project should exceed the interest payments due on the Loan, so the investor should not have to finance the interest payments independently. There will be net profits for the investor as well, even after the interest payment on the Loan is paid.
Playa Vista Equities will manage the dividend distribution process from the EB-5 Project to the EB-5 Project Fund (NCE), as well as the interest payment process for your Loan. You will be able to monitor each transaction via our proprietary Investor Dashboard, which all EB-5 investors have access to.
The capital is sent to the EB-5 project escrow account, at which point the escrow agent will provide the despot receipt, which will then be sent to all parties. From here, the EB-5 investor can file their I-526 Petition.
Yes. You may use collateral outside of the United States to secure the Loan.
It will be appraised during the underwriting process by a third-party, then every year thereafter. Any liabilities (mortgage, lien, secured debt, etc.) will be substracted from its value, which will represent the asset's net worth. The net worth is what you will be given credit for, not the gross value of the asset. The collective net worth of your collateral must exceed the Loan amount.
The Loan is repaid when the EB-5 project returns the capital back to the EB-5 investor. For example, if the EB-5 project returns the capital to the EB-5 investor after 5 years, the Loan is then repaid at that time.
Secured EB-5 Loans are backed by collateral which the EB-5 Investor owns. Unsecured EB-5 Loans are not backed by collateral. The primary difference is the risk the lender is taking. Typically, unsecured loans are riskier than secured loans and therefore have a higher interest rate. New Course Enterprises offers both secured and unsecured loans for EB-5 Investors.
Yes, you will be able to prepay the Loan without penalty typically over the first 12-24 months after the Loan closing. The prepayment window depends upon the EB-5 Project that you select.