A TEA is a Target Employment Area. Being able to locate in a TEA is the difference between being able to offer individual EB-5 investors the ability to invest $500,000 instead of $1,000,000 in your project. TEAs are defined as areas that have 150% of the national average unemployment or areas which are outside of metropolitan statistical areas that are larger than 20,000 people. The good news is that if you don't think you are in a TEA you could be surprised. TEA assessments can be complex and should be understood properly as soon as possible as this can have a significant impact on your offer to investors. Understand how TEAs can be assessed and speak to the right experts early on in order to know whether or not your business can qualify.