The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program was established in 1990 to encourage international investment and support economic growth in the United States through job creation.
To receive a Green Card, foreign people must make a qualified investment in a new or existing US commercial firm that produces 10 US employment.
EB-5 investors and their families are granted permanent status in the United States, allowing them to live and work anywhere in the country.
With a single EB-5 investment, the primary applicant, spouse, and any unmarried children under the age of 21 can all receive Green Cards.
This EB-5 visa is an excellent way for investors and entrepreneurs to get permanent residency in the United States.
You can reside and work in the United States if you have an EB-5 visa.
Through the EB-5 visa, you can also obtain a green card for your spouse and children.
This article will describe what this visa comprises and how to get one.
Table of Contents
The EB-5 visa is an immigrant visa for investors, entrepreneurs, and anybody wishing to start a business in the United States.
To be eligible for an EB-5 visa, you must invest at least $1,800,000 in a US firm.
If your investment is in an economically poor region known as a “targeted employment region,” you may be able to invest a lower amount of $900,000.
In addition to investing the statutory minimum, the firm must generate 10 full-time employees in the United States.
The company must also be a for-profit commercial venture.
Real estate investments and non-profit organizations do not qualify for EB-5.
An investor can get an EB-5 visa by making a direct investment or investing in a regional center.
Regional centers are specialized enterprises that combine investment money from many EB-5 investors in order to construct large-scale projects like a resort or apartment complex.
Direct investment is not made through a regional hub.
Any investment that does not take place at a regional hub is classified as a direct investment. Direct investments include starting your own business or purchasing an existing firm.
The procedure of obtaining a green card with the EB-5 visa consists of two major components.
For the first two years, you are a conditional permanent resident.
After two years, you can remove the requirement from your green card by demonstrating that you have officially generated ten jobs for US people and that you have kept your money invested in a US firm for the whole time period.
Because the EB-5 visa is an immigrant visa category, if you are a successful EB-5 applicant, you will be able to obtain your green card and begin the process of obtaining US citizenship.
As an EB-5 investor, your spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 may also be eligible for green cards.
Your children can receive an education in the United States.
You are not required to work for a sponsoring firm as an accepted EB-5 visa holder.
You are free to labor in any legally permissible capacity.
You are free to live and work wherever you want in the United States.
You are eligible to work in the United States without the need for special work authorization.
To be eligible for an EB-5 visa, you must meet the following requirements:
A New Commercial Enterprise is a for-profit company that conducts legitimate operations and was founded on November 29, 1990.
To be eligible for an EB-5 visa, the firm in which you invest must be a New Commercial Enterprise.
A new business enterprise’s activities must be commercial.
As a result, owning and running a piece of residential real estate is ineligible.
Businesses founded on or before November 29, 1990, may also qualify as a new business entity if:
The EB-5 visa is available to most types of businesses, including:
To be eligible for an EB-5 visa, you must be able to:
A regional center is a USCIS-regulated corporate organization that can pool cash from many EB-5 investors to build a project.
Economic growth, regional productivity, and job development must all be promoted through regional centers.
They often construct large-scale hotels, resorts, and other real-estate developments.
A targeted employment area is a high-unemployment area or a rural area (as defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act).
A high-unemployment area is one with an unemployment rate that is at least 150 percent of the national average.
A rural area is not part of a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and is not part of any city or town with a population of 20,000 or more people.
To be eligible for the lower investment level, the new commercial firm must primarily do business in the targeted employment region.
To be eligible for the lower investment level, the new commercial firm must primarily do business in the targeted employment region.
A company primarily operates in the region where it “regularly, methodically, and constantly delivers goods or services that promote employment creation.”
Your EB-5 investment must be “at-risk” until you are granted unconditional permanent residency.
Essentially, this means that your investment dollars must be used rather than sitting in your company’s operating account.
While the restrictions are not entirely clear, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Here’s a quick rundown of the EB-5 application process:
The first stage in the EB-5 procedure is to employ an immigration attorney who has handled EB-5 cases in the past.
Based on your immigration goals and circumstances, your attorney can advise you on whether the EB-5 visa is the best option for you.
Throughout the EB-5 procedure, your attorney will be your partner.
They will examine your EB-5 investment to ensure that it is compliant with immigration laws.
They will also create all of the required documentation to ensure that you fulfill all of the EB-5 visa criteria.
Choose an EB-5 investment that you are confident in (after doing a lot of due diligence).
Your attorney should not provide you business investment advice unless they are qualified to do so.
If you want investing assistance, you should speak with a Registered Investment Advisor or a Broker/Dealer.
Ascertain that they are knowledgeable about the EB-5 program.
Your attorney can assist you in ensuring that your investment complies with the EB-5 visa program’s immigration standards.
Invest your money in a new commercial venture.
When you submit Form I-526, you must demonstrate that you have invested or are actively investing your cash in the new business.
You can place the funds in an escrow account.
(Funds would be released subject to I-526 approval and adjustment of status or visa issuance.)
The mere desire to invest at a later date is inadequate evidence.
After assembling all of the required documents, your attorney will file Form I-526 on your behalf.
The initial EB-5 petition is the I-526.
If your I-526 application is accepted, you will be able to apply for conditional permanent residence (a 2-year conditional green card).
Your green card will be conditional for two years until you complete the EB-5 criteria.
The conditions include producing ten full-time employment in the United States and retaining an “at-risk” investment in the project.
There are two methods to obtain a conditional green card.
Depending on whether you are inside or outside of the United States, you will either modify your status in the United States or go through a consular procedure overseas.
After 21 months as a conditional permanent residence, you can have your attorney submit Form I-829 on your behalf.
The application to have the condition lifted from your green card is made on Form I-829.
This is done for you to become an unconditional permanent resident (a green card holder).
If you satisfy all of the EB-5 program’s requirements, you may be able to have the condition removed from your green card.
This is accomplished by demonstrating that your investment in the project was sustained and that you produced the requisite ten full-time employment for US citizens.
After five years as a permanent resident, you may be entitled to apply for Naturalization and become a US citizen.
USCIS presently processes I-526s in roughly 18 months on average.
(It is expected that the 18-month schedule will improve in the future.)
Status adjustment takes roughly 6 months.
Consular processing takes around 8 to 12 months.
You are a conditional green card holder for two years until your I-829 petition is approved.
During this two-year term, you are permitted to live and work in the United States.
Currently, the processing period for Form I-829 is around 2.5 years.
(In the future, this processing time is likely to decrease.)
Green Card (Permanent Residency):
You will be a permanent resident after your I-829 is accepted.
You may be able to apply for naturalization as a US citizen after being a permanent resident for at least 5 years.
One of the most important conditions of the EB-5 visa is that the cash utilized for an EB-5 investment be obtained legally.
This means that the monies must have been received via legal methods and cannot have been obtained through criminal methods.
To demonstrate this, you will produce several papers demonstrating how the monies were obtained, such as bank records and tax returns.
Some instances of legal funds are:
Yes, the money you utilize for your EB-5 investment can be gifted to you by others.
Notice that the money must be in your possession before it may be invested in an EB-5 venture.
The individual making the gift cannot invest the cash directly in the EB-5 firm on your behalf.
You’ll still have to establish that the individual who gave you the money did it legally.
(This is also true if your EB-5 investment is inherited.)
The EB-5 visa does not grant you citizenship.
However, with an EB-5 visa, you can eventually become a citizen of the United States.
The EB-5 visa is a type of immigration visa.
As a successful application, you will be able to become a permanent residence.
The procedure begins with obtaining a conditional green card.
You can then remove the condition on your conditional green card and become an unconditional permanent residence.
As a permanent resident, you may seek to become a US citizen through the naturalization procedure.
After becoming a permanent resident for at least 5 years, you may apply for naturalization.
Remember that your time as a conditional permanent residence counts against the five-year limit.
You must also be physically present in the United States for at least two and a half years within the five-year term to naturalize.
During this time, you may not be gone from the United States for more than 180 days in a row.
Other prerequisites for becoming a citizen include possessing a good moral character and completing a United States civics examination.
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