Civitas Capital Group, a Dallas-based alternative investment manager offering niche opportunities in U.S. real estate, today announced that it has received Form I-956 approval from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for Civitas Central Regional Center. This means that Civitas will be able to sponsor EB-5 projects in three states it had not previously sought such approval – Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma – as well as the entirety of Texas, where Civitas has sponsored 30-plus EB-5 projects since 2009.
The Form I-956, which was prepared and filed on behalf of Civitas by immigration advisors KLD LLP, was designed to prove to USCIS that the multistate regional center is compliant with EB-5 program requirements. The adjudication of the I-956 for the regional center in just eight months is exciting news, as Civitas has five other multistate regional centers awaiting approval. If approved, these six multistate regional centers would give Civitas EB-5 sponsorship approval covering most of the United States.
Civitas currently has nine additional regional centers operating throughout the United States.
“Civitas is very excited that our Form I-956 was approved to operate across a four-state region,” said Jeff Kiser, Director and Head of EB-5 Investor Relations for Civitas. “This gives us access to large swaths of rural targeted employment areas, or ‘TEAs’ within the central U.S., allowing Civitas to take advantage of the expected faster processing for rural projects that was outlined in the Reform and Integrity Act (RIA).”
