"Labor Market Information (LMI) is an applied science; it is the systematic collection and analysis of data which describes and predicts the relationship between labor demand and supply." The States' Labor Market Information Review, ICESA, 1995, p. 7.
Qualifying Targeted Employment Areas for Wyoming
Beginning November 21, 2019, Research & Planning will no longer will be responsible for determining targeted employment areas (TEAs) for EB-5 Visas. Targeted employment areas will become the responsibility of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For more information, please see https://www.uscis.gov/.
Wyoming Governor Matthew Mead designated the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Research and Planning, as the agency to certify Targeted Employment Areas pursuant to the provision of the Immigration Act of 1990 and the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 8, Part 204.6.
To qualify as a Targeted Employment Area, a geographic area must either be:
1. A rural area — this is defined as any county not in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Cities with populations over 20,000 in non MSA counties are also excluded. The following counties qualify in their entireties by this definition. No cities within these counties have populations over 20,000.
Big Horn | Niobrara |
Carbon | Park |
Converse | Platte |
Crook | Sheridan |
Fremont | Sublette |
Goshen | Teton |
Hot Springs | Uinta |
Johnson | Washakie |
Lincoln | Weston |
Albany, Campbell, and Sweetwater Counties contain cities with a population over 20,000. These counties qualify as rural area outside of the city limits of Laramie, Gillette, and Rock Springs.
2. A high unemployment area — this is defined as a non-rural area that has an unemployment rate 150 percent higher than the national average. Currently, the qualifying rate is 6.2%, using the Areas of Substantial Unemployment reference period July 2017 – June 2018 the national average unemployment rate was 4.1%. The following census tracts qualify using this definition:
County | County FIPS | Tract FIPS | Unemployment Rate |
---|---|---|---|
Albany | 001 | 963000 | 7.1 |
Campbell | 005 | 000400 | 7.9 |
Campbell | 005 | 000700 | 7.3 |
Campbell | 005 | 000600 | 7.0 |
Laramie | 021 | 001502 | 9.8 |
Laramie | 021 | 000200 | 7.4 |
Laramie | 021 | 000700 | 7.3 |
Natrona | 025 | 000400 | 9.2 |
Natrona | 025 | 001200 | 9.1 |
Natrona | 025 | 000502 | 8.6 |
Natrona | 025 | 001401 | 6.9 |
Sweetwater | 037 | 970500 | 10.0 |
Sweetwater | 037 | 971000 | 9.6 |
Sweetwater | 037 | 970602 | 6.7 |
Other areas can be calculated upon request.
Prepared by: CC, Research & Planning.
The following are some of the specific locations on our website that may have useful information for you as you consider your employment options: