About EB-5
What is EB-5?
EB-5 visa allows eligible investors and their family members to obtain permanent residency in the United States through investment. An EB-5 visa leads to a permanent green card.
The EB-5 program is run by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and encourages foreign investment into approved projects that create American jobs. For each investor a minimum of 10 jobs must be created for U.S. workers. The minimum investment in $1.8 million USD, except in some targeted areas (TEA) where the investment is reduced to $900,000 USD. The investment must be “at risk” and cannot be guaranteed.
Why EB-5?
- There are no qualification requirements for investors with respect to age, business experience, or language skills.
- One investment can provide a green card for the investor, the spouse, and unmarried children under age 21.
- EB-5 does not require an offer of employment or family sponsorship.
- Once an EB-5 visa is obtained, the investor, spouse and dependents may obtain employment freely or open a business in the U.S.
What are the Benefits of a U.S. Green Card?
- You can live/work and travel in/out of anywhere in the U.S. whenever you want.
- You have access to the best educational institutions in the U.S. at resident costs.
- Your children are eligible to receive free public education from kindergarten to high school.
- As a permanent resident, you can sponsor residency status for relatives.
- Ability to become a U.S. citizen after 5 years as a permanent resident.
- Social Security: after 10 years of working in the U.S. you are eligible for retirement benefits
FAQ'S
How Do I Become an EB-5 Investor?
How Do I Become an EB-5 Investor?
How Do I Become an EB-5 Investor?
To begin the process, you will first be asked to sign a certification that you qualify as a non-US person and/or an accredited investor. You will then receive comprehensive offering materials that will describe the U.S. Immigrant investor program, the regional center and the investment project. You will sign the legal agreements to become a member of the investment fund and deposit your capital investment (plus additional fees).
What is an I-526?
How Do I Become an EB-5 Investor?
How Do I Become an EB-5 Investor?
In simplified terms, the I-526 is a plan for how the investor’s EB-5 investment will meet the criteria of the EB-5 program by benefiting the U.S. economy and creating employment. As such, the plan is reviewed by USCIS for compliance with regulations and, if there are clarifications needed, a Request For Evidence, or RFE, may be issued. I-526 submissions are complex and detailed and represent an important step in the EB-5 immigration process. The approval of the I-526 provides the ability for the qualified investor to receive a conditional green card.
What is an I-829?
How Do I Become an EB-5 Investor?
What is an EB-5 Regional Center?
The I-829 (again in simplified terms!) is proof that the plan submitted with the I-526 was successful and resulted in the planned job creation. The approval of the I-829 removes conditions from the investor’s green card. As with the I-526, an RFE may be issued if clarification is needed. A skilled Regional Center will conduct ongoing due diligence over the life of the project to help avoid an RFE.
What is an EB-5 Regional Center?
What is an EB-5 Regional Center?
What is an EB-5 Regional Center?
An EB-5 Regional Center is an organization designated by USCIS that sponsors capital investment projects for investment by EB-5 investors in order to facilitate U.S. economic growth.
Regional Centers oversee the EB-5 process to ensure that the project and investment adhere to EB-5 program regulations and act as a liaison between the investors and the U.S. project.
Why Use a Regional Center?
What is an EB-5 Regional Center?
Why Use a Regional Center?
The Regional Center structure provides 3 major advantages for investors:
1. Job creation is determined by an economic analysis which allows indirect and induced jobs to be counted towards the job creation needed to obtain a green card.
2. Investor funds can be pooled together and loaned to projects as debt instead of equity – placing investors in a more secure financial position in the capital stack.
3. Investors do not need to be involved in the day-to-day management of the project they invest in.
What is Retrogression?
What is an EB-5 Regional Center?
Why Use a Regional Center?
•10,000 EB-5 visas available each year.
•This number was established in 1990 and has never changed.
•This number includes visas for primary applicants, their spouse and unmarried dependents – so each family member uses a visa.
•Each country is capped at 7% of available visas
•With the increased demand in recent years, several countries have exceeded the country cap leading to waiting times for applicants from those countries also known as 'retrogression'.