Lakewood is now the sixth Washington city to participate in a federal immigration program that encourages job creation through foreign investment.

City leaders learned last week that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services accepted their application into the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program.

The designation means areas of Lakewood — Pacific Highway and South Tacoma Way, Tillicum-Woodbrook-Springbrook and a neighborhood near Towne Center — are now regional centers for the program, also known as EB-5.

Through the 17-year-old program, foreigners can obtain visas into the United States by investing at least $1 million in a commercial venture that creates at least 10 jobs.

If the investment is made in a regional center with a high unemployment rate, such as the ones created in Lakewood, non-citizens must invest at least $500,000 into a new or existing business that creates 10 jobs.

Ellie Chambers-Grady, Lakewood’s economic development manager, says the program is suited for a city that is looking for ways to improve its neighborhoods.

“What this does is it gives us an opportunity to have someone come into this market, invest in this market,” she said. “We think this is a great strategy because it allows us to tap into resources that wouldn’t have been available to us otherwise.”

The city has hired Seattle-based American Life, Inc. to find foreign investors and get the program running. It’s the same company that worked with Tacoma, Seattle and Everett to get their immigrant investment programs running. Renton and Bellingham are the two other EB-5 communities in the state.

Bob Levin, private capital division manager for City of Tacoma, said the EB-5 program helped lead to American Life’s $3 million purchase last year of the vacant Foremost Dairy building at South 25th Street and South Pacific Avenue.

But the building is still awaiting its makeover, a sign that even overseas investors are feeling the economic downturn, he said.

“We think as the capital markets thaw a little bit, we may see some progress,” Levin said.

American Life also purchased property in Seattle’s SoDo district, which Lakewood officials pointed to when they applied for EB-5 status early this year.

In an interview with The News Tribune last year, American Life President Henry Liebman said the company has brought more than 400 investors to the U.S. from more than 30 countries with more than 40 investment projects, most in Seattle.

He said most of those investors are from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, China and India, and most of them don’t live in the Puget Sound region.

Chambers-Grady said foreigners who participate in the EB-5 program are screened by the federal government.

She said the EB-5 designation complements Lakewood’s other efforts to develop its economy, such as recent master plans to improve Tillicum and Woodbrook and road improvements along Pacific Highway Southwest.

“This is just another element of those efforts,” she said.

Brent Champaco: 253-597-8653

brent.champaco@thenewstribune.com