USA EB-5 INVESTOR PROGRAM
Created to stimulate foreign investments and economic growth in the United States of America
ELIGIBILITY FOR USA EB-5 INVESTOR VISA
Investment
The applicants must invest at least $1,050,000 (or $800,000 in a targeted employment area, including infrastructure projects), legally acquired, in a commercial enterprise in the United States
Job creation
The EB-5 investment must create at least ten permanent, direct, indirect, and induced full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers, calculated according to an economic or statistical methodology.
Minimum net worth
The applicant must have a net worth over $ 1 million excluding primary residence, owned individually or jointly with their spouse, or an annual income exceeding $200,000 ($300,000 joint income).
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Fact Sheets
Capital: Washington, D.C.
Major cities: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago
Population: 331 million (2021)
GDP: $21.4 trillion (2021)
Average Income: $56,000
KEY BENEFITS OF USA EB-5 INVESTOR PROGRAM
Settlement in the USA
Once a conditional green card is issued, the principal applicants, their spouses, and qualified children under 21 can settle in the United States to live, work and study.
Capital Return Possible
Depending on the investment project selected, the capital invested in a qualified job-creating enterprise may be refunded to the applicant after a certain period.
Access to Citizenship
A successful EB-5 applicant has access to U.S. citizenship after five years of legal, unconditional permanent residence status (unconditional green card.)
IMMIGRATION PROCEDURE FOR USA EB-5 INVESTOR VISA
Project Selection
The project selection is crucial to fulfilling the investor’s goals of preserving the invested capital (with strict due diligence), fulfilling the program conditions (was the exemplar filled, for instead) and expediting the visa processing (with a project located in a rural area, for instance).
Investment
Only after investing lawfully acquired capital in the selected project are the immigrant investors allowed to submit their I-526 petition to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), along with detailed proof of the source of funds and all the related project documents.
Conditional Permanent Residence Visa
Once the USCIS approves the I-526 petition, a two-year conditional permanent residence visa can be acquired by submitting either an I-485 form (adjustment of status) from within the United States or a DS-260 petition (online immigrant visa application) if the investors live outside of the United States.
Removal of Conditions
The last immigration procedure consists of applying for the removal of the conditions attached to their permanent residence visa (I-829 petition) by establishing that the investment was made in a new commercial enterprise and maintained for at least two years, that the required jobs were created, and other documents were provided.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The EB-5 immigrant investor is required to invest USD$1,050,000 (or USD$800,000 when investing in a targeted employment area) in a new commercial enterprise. The investment must create at least ten full-time jobs for legal U.S. workers (residents or citizens) within two years.
The EB-5 immigrant investor (Regional Center) can only submit his form I-526E petition for immigrant investors after filling out an I-956F application for approval of an investment in a commercial enterprise. The approval of the I-956F form will constitute the USCIS project approval.
10,000 EB-5 visas (including the principal applicants, spouses, and dependant children) are reserved every fiscal year. The new law adopted in 2022 sets aside 32% of the annual quotas for the following projects:
- 20% for projects located in rural areas
- 10% for projects located in high unemployment areas as designated by the USCIS
- 2% for infrastructure projects.
The EB-5 program grants permanent resident status to the principal applicants, their spouses, and any unmarried children under 21 who have not aged out.
The EB-5 program grants permanent residency status without requesting proof of employment or family sponsorship. Moreover, the principal applicant and their dependants do not need to establish a minimum educational level, language skills, or management experience.
Around 21 months after the conditional permanent residence visa issuance, the EB-5 investors must submit their I-829 petitions (removal of conditions).
After maintaining an unconditional permanent resident status for five years and being physically present in the U.S. for at least 2.5 of those five years.