ATLANTA—Specialty asset management and financial services firmCivitas Capital Group reports that theUnited States Citizen and Immigration Services hasapproved the establishment of the Civitas Atlanta RegionalCenter.

The Civitas Atlanta Regional Center will operate as anofficially designated EB-5 regional center for thecity of Atlanta and is expected to facilitate substantial andvaluable economic development within Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton,and Gwinnett counties, officials with the Dallas-based company say.The Regional Center will seek foreign investors to fund a varietyof real estate investments, including multifamily and mixed-useresidential developments, office developments, and senior housingfacilities, as well as investments in other industries such ascorporate finance for local businesses to expand.

USCIS administers the Immigrant Investor Program, also known asEB-5, which was created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S.economy through job creation and capital investment by foreigninvestors. Under a pilot immigration program first enacted in 1992and regularly reauthorized since, certain EB-5 visas also are setaside for investors in Regional Centers designated by USCIS basedon proposals for promoting economic growth.