The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program allows foreign nationals to receive permanent resident status by investing a minimum of $500,000 into an investment that creates and sustains at least 10 jobs per investor within two years of such investor's entry into the United States. Oriental Dolphins EB-5 Regional Center (ODRC) is authorized by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to establish qualifying EB-5 projects and match eligible investors to those investments.
In 2015, ODRC affiliated with Baltimore's Concerted Care Group (CCG) for the purpose of providing CCG with EB-5 senior debt. CCG used the EB-5 senior debt for the development of an integrated medical center primarily focusing on treatment for individuals suffering from addiction. After less than one year of the center's operation, CCG estimates that it has over 700 active patients.
USCIS approved requests for expedited adjudication for all of CCG's EB-5 foreign investors as a result of the dire need for addiction treatment facilities in the area. Generally, requests to expedite applications are typically approved only in the case of national interest, humanitarian need, or emergency situations. As such, very few EB-5 petitions receive expedited approval each year. However, based on the need for additional treatment facilities in the area, ODRC estimates that some CCG investors received I-526 approval in as few as 50 days. The USCIS current average adjudication period for I-526 applications is 15.5 months. After an investor's I-526 application is approved, the investor, his or her spouse, and any unmarried children under the age of 21 are eligible for permanent residency in the United States.
ODRC and CCG have announced plans to open two more integrated medical centers in the Baltimore metropolitan area, which are expected to be funded with a combination of EB-5 senior debt and private equity from CCG's affiliate, Concerted Care Group Investors (CCGI). In response to Baltimore's demand for additional treatment facilities, ODRC plans to again pursue expedited approvals for EB-5 investors of the new CCG clinics. In the time since the CCG applicants were approved for expedited processing, federal support has grown for the fight against drug addiction. President Obama's FY 2017 budget includes $1.1 billion in new funding to address prescription opioid abuse and heroin use.
About ODRC
In 2011, ODRC was approved as a regional center by USCIS to promote economic growth in Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware. More recently, ODRC has partnered with affiliates such as EB-5 WorldWide, Inc. and American National Immigration and Education Center in order to participate in EB-5 financing and consulting throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. In 2015, ODRC completed funding for three EB-5 projects including CCG.