10 Things USCIS I-956F Approval of RISE Tells Us

USCIS issued two I-956F approvals for Behring’s RISE fund, for BRC Partners VII LP, the loan-style “Max Protection” offering, as well as for BRC Legacy Partners LP – Class C, the preferred equity “Basic Income” offering for RISE fund. These I-956F Approvals from USCIS came in 8-months which is a rapid improvement over typical processing times of years past. USCIS’s approval is certifying that this game changing investor-first strategy is 100% compliant with USCIS’s EB-5 regulations and poised to earn green cards for all EB-5 investors.

10 Things USCIS I-956F Approvals of RISE Tells Us:

• USCIS approved RISE Project TEA and HUA Status for 11 locations.
• USCIS approved RISE Project’s multi-asset diversification strategy.
• USCIS approved RISE ability to share and diversify job creation across multiple JCEs & NCEs
• USCIS approved RISE job creation economic model based on simple construction spending, while creating a minimum 10% in direct jobs.
• USCIS approved Behring’s bridge financing strategy to bank jobs for future investors before they subscribe.
• USCIS approved RISE project’s strategy to offer multiple investment options enabling investors to customize their EB-5 investment.
• USCIS approved RISE project’s ability to allow blending investment options for diversification.
• USCIS approved RISE project’s individual investor redemption and repayment plan.
• USCIS’s approval will enhance integrity across the EB-5 Industry

The RISE fund is our Residential Income and Strategic EB-5 Fund, which is focused on U.C. Berkeley student housing and multifamily apartment construction across the San Francisco East Bay.

USCIS’s I-956F Approvals Certified the Following Strategies & Benefits

• USCIS approved Target Employment Area status and HUA reserved set aside status for the next 2 years across all EB-5 job-creating projects in the fund including UC Berkeley student housing located directly next to the #1 Public University in the United States. This lowers the required investment amount.
• USCIS approved Behring’s diversified multi-asset strategy allowing EB-5 investors to diversify and reduce risk of loss. Diversification can reduce correlated investment risk by up to 90% compared to single asset investments. Other EB-5 offerings have a single asset with 100% risk exposure. Never in the investment world is 100% concentration in a single asset the ideal strategy.
• USCIS approved Behring’s strategy of sharing job creation across multiple JCE (job-creating entities) and NCEs (new commercial enterprise) which allows jobs to be shared across multiple investment types, multiple investing entities and enables blending structures, reducing investor risk seamlessly. EB-5 investors do not have to choose an “all-or-nothing” strategy fully risking their families’ immigration status on one single investment.
• USCIS approved RISE job creation being 100% indirectly induced and measured via economic impact models with no need for direct hiring. Measuring economic stimulus from project construction is far easier, more transparent and lowers risk to EB-5 investors. The economic models record both direct and indirect job creation satisfying the 2022 RIA Policy Requirements.
• USCIS approved Behring’s bridge financing strategy to use the Legacy Fund’s existing capital base to invest and bank jobs on behalf of future investors. The RISE project has made incredibly rapid progress and has exhibited accelerated performance having created over 700 jobs and already cash flowing from 3 projects by the time the I-956F was even approved.
• USCIS approved Behring’s ability to allow multiple investment options in a single EB-5 project. Investors can choose loan-style, preferred equity, or common equity investment across the same project. USCIS’s approval of the RISE fund’s strategy allows investors more choice and more control over their investment.
• USCIS approved Behring’s open-end fund structure and blending investment options using individual “units” to further reduce investor risk. Investors not only can choose multiple investment types across multiple assets, but they can achieve further financial diversification by choosing what proportion of each investment they prefer. With three core options of debt, preferred equity and common equity, the ability to reduce correlated risk enhances significantly.
• USCIS approved Behring’s redemption plan allowing individual investors more flexibility and control of their investment exit and EB-5 repayment. USCIS approved the ability for EB-5 investors to choose to sell and redeem some or all of their investment after their initial investment commitments have been completed. This is a monumental improvement over other EB-5 regional centers who force investors to stick around for many years longer than policy demands. Investors are able to recover some or all of their capital based on their own investment targets.
• USCIS approved the modular structure where projects can simply be added onto the existing portfolio. The RISE project was structured as a follow-on investment to the already operating Legacy Fund. This expedites the review period as an existing fund-level approval is in place already. USCIS showed its approval of a long-term strategy allowing the Legacy Fund to grow over time by adding new projects to a pre-existing and successful portfolio while earning immigration benefits for each and every new job-creating project. The Legacy Fund’s core documents now have deference and a de facto pre-approval going forward. USCIS has approved a bulk package of documents, and RISE simply added on a single project-related addendum. This enables USCIS to focus only on the EB-5 investor’s source of funds report when processing the I-526E petition.
• USCIS approval forces our competitors to act with more integrity. The RISE fund has been so successful at winning investor favor that our competitors only response to why you should NOT invest in RISE was because it did not have 956F approval. Now that tactic is gone and there is nothing left to say.

This I-956F Approval Unlocks Key Benefits for RISE Investors:

• USCIS showed processing times are materially the same between Rural or HUA project processing times for I-956F projects approving the Legacy Fund’s investment into the RISE Project in a speedy 8 months.
• EB-5 investor I-526E petition approvals to Follow. The 2022 EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act requires the I-956F to be filed before investors may file their I-526E petitions. In practice, I-956F approval is necessary before USCIS begins approving I-526E petitions. Behring has experienced I-526E approvals to follow within a month of I-956F approval. We anticipate our investors will start being approved rapidly. Already over 75+ RISE EB-5 investors are already subscribed, lined up, and ready to go which will create positive momentum for the entire fund.
• Mandamus eligibility. Mandamus actions for the earliest investors can propel faster approvals for newer investors as the “group” or “batch” processing habits of USCIS will start expediting approval process for all investors.
• At Behring we have a 100% approval history on all petitions. We knew we were all but guaranteed to receive this approval but having it in hand is simply better. Investors can be certain; attorneys can be certain; this milestone has been achieved.

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