By Phil Riske | Managing Editor

The EB-5 Program, which is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and U.S. Citizenship Immigration Services (USCIS), enables certain foreign investors to earn conditional permanent residency, and eventually green cards, by making “at risk” investments of at least $500,000 in “regional centers” that create or preserve jobs for U.S. workers.

The program provides the funding for PhoenixMart at Casa Grande

Announcements last week by SEC and USCIS indicate that investments made through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (the EB-5 Program) will be subject to heightened scrutiny. On October 1, the SEC announced fraud charges against a husband and wife in McAllen, Texas, for allegedly stealing funds from foreign investors seeking U.S. residency through the EB-5 Program. On the same day, the SEC and USCIS issued a joint Investor Alert to educate and warn investors about fraud in the program.

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PhoenixMart has a clean record with the EB-5, Debbie Kliss of the national law firm Ballard Spahr told Rose Law Group Reporter

The program gave birth to the planned PhoenixMart in Casa Grande, a 1.5 million square foot commercial complex to promote small and mid-sized manufacturers’ and agents’ products directly to consumers, businesses and international buyers.  Phoenix Mart will be the newest and largest sourcing center in the United States. There are similar complexes, Yiwu and DragonMart, in China and Dubai. Foreign investors in PhoenixMart are from China.

Under federal law, 10,000 immigrant visas per year are available to qualified individuals seeking permanent resident status on the basis of their engagement in a new commercial enterprise. Permanent resident status based on EB-5 eligibility might be available to investors who have invested – or are actively in the process of investing – at least $1,000,000 into a new commercial enterprise they have established.

PhoenixMart plans call for 585 acres of a master-planned community and 1.7 million square feet of multi-functional wholesale, retail, entertainment and convention center space. Problems finalizing EB-5 funding caused an 18-month delay in the project, which is said to provide 3,000 direct and 4,000 indirect jobs upon completion, estimated for the fall of 2014.

Casa Grande beat out New Jersey and a location outside of Atlanta for location of the complex.

 Related: 

Developer set to build international trade center in Casa Grande