LANSING — On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Snyder announced Michigan has officially become one of only two states in the nation with a state run EB-5 Regional Center aimed at attracting foreign investors who want to live, work and create jobs in the state.

Michigan is poised to join Vermont as the only other state with this unique investment and immigration opportunity.

Snyder said the Michigan EB-5 Regional Center will act as a vehicle to connect eligible foreign investors with potential development projects across the state, which in return could lead to permanent residency for them and their families.

Investors will come from a variety of sources, including individuals and contacts made through Michigan’s colleges and universities hoping to retain and attract current and former students.

It was one of the three immigration-related proposals the governor highlighted or alluded to in his 2014 State of the State address. The Center will work in coordination with the Michigan Office for New Americans that was created by Executive Order in late January.

Immigration Policy Center data indicates that Michigan’s immigrants are six times more likely to start a high-tech firm than U.S. born residents. In that same study, it said Michigan’s foreign born residents were more than three times as likely to start a new business between 1996 and 2007 as those born in the state.

Scott Woosley, executive director of Michigan State Housing Development Authority, said it is anticipated that the regional center will generate $30-50 million of new private equity for projects each year and create 600 new jobs in communities where they are much needed. 

This EB – or “employment-based” – 5th preference visa program allows investors and their families to obtain permanent residency by investing in an enterprise that creates at least 10 direct or indirect jobs in Michigan. Investments can range from $500,000 to $1 million, depending on whether the qualifying project is in a distressed area considered a targeted employment zone (TEA) or not. A TEA is considered anywhere employment is at or above 150% of the national unemployment rate. There are currently 433 eligible areas in Michigan.

With the approval step cleared, the MCDC can finalize the process for a formal call for projects, which must meet an underwriting process that is under development. Mixed use developments, senior public housing, public-private university projects and hotel/condo projects are just some of the projects that could be considered. Each project must be preapproved by the USCIS in order to be eligible to qualify for EB-5 green cards.

The EB-5 program provides for the USCIS’s completion of the visa application approval process once an investment has resulted in the creation of at least 10 full-time jobs in Michigan and the EB-5 requirements are met. The new regional center could close on its first project as early as the end of the year.