Due to a lack of activity by the state’s three privately-run regional EB-5 centers that serve the state of Maine, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (MECD) is considering launching its own EB-5 visa program to attract more direct foreign investment to the state, according to the Bangor Daily News. Under the proposed state-run EB-5 program, the state hopes to create economic prosperity and job creation by stimulating foreign direct investment into economic development projects across the state – in return the foreign investors gain a fast-track path to citizenship. To be eligible for the EB-5 program, foreign investors must invest $500,000 to $1 million in a project that helps create or retain at least 10 jobs in the United States. The recent announcement comes almost four years after the state legislature directed MECD to set up a state-run regional center. However, the state has not allocated funding for the program yet, according to the Sun Journal. If Maine proceeds with the proposal, it would be one of only a handful of states that has a state-run EB-5 program. In addition to targeting investment in traditional economic development projects, several states have successfully used the EB-5 program to attract foreign investments in tech startups, advanced manufacturing companies and other projects that help grow their state’s innovation economy.
