The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa was created in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. The EB-5 visa provides a method for foreign nationals who invest $1.05 million or at least $800,000 in a Targeted Employment Area (i.e., high unemployment or rural area) in the United States of obtaining a green card.
The law allocates 10,000 EB-5 immigrant visas per year for qualified individuals seeking permanent resident status on the basis of their engagement in a new commercial enterprise and employing at least 10 full-time US workers.
There are two distinct EB-5 pathways for an immigrant investor to gain lawful permanent residence for themselves and their immediate family, (1) Traditional Program and (2) the Regional Center Program. Both programs require that the immigrant make a capital investment of either $800,000 or $1.05 million (depending on whether the investment is in a Targeted Employment Area or not) in a new commercial enterprise located within the United States.
Traditional EB-5 Visa Program:
In order for applicants to qualify under the Traditional EB-5 Visa program, they must meet the following three (3) requirements:
- • Make an investment in a new commercial enterprise
- • Make an investment of at least $1.05 million into that enterprise
- • Create employment for at least 10 full-time US workers within 2 years
The investment may consist of various forms of capital, including cash, equipment, inventory, property, and other tangible equivalents. An investment amount of $1.05 million is generally the minimum.
EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program:
Of the 10,000 EB-5 investor visas available annually, 3000 are set aside for those who apply under a “Pilot Program.” The pilot program provides for investments that are affiliated with an economic unit known as a “Regional Center.” This involves a passive investment of $800,000 made in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) within a Designated Regional Center.
- • A targeted employment area (TEA) is an area that, at the time of investment, is a rural area or an area experiencing unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average rate.
- • A rural area is any area outside a metropolitan statistical area and outside the boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more.
- • The Pilot Program is a program that was created by Congress in 1992 to broaden the appeal of the EB5 visa
- • A Regional Center is defined as any economic unit, public or private, which is involved with the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment
The EB-5 visa requires the applicant to be involved in the business policy management. This policy management requirement is minimal in that the investor can be a “limited partner” and still qualify for EB-5 visa as long as the limited partners have a policy-making role. Thus, for those who are not interested in day-to-day management or running an active business, Regional Center programs offer a more acceptable inactive form of investment.
When making an investment in a new commercial enterprise affiliated with a US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)-designated regional center under the Regional Center Pilot Program, an immigrant investor may satisfy the job creation requirements through the creation of either “direct” or “indirect” jobs. Notably, an immigrant investing in a new commercial enterprise under the Traditional Program may only satisfy the job creation requirements through the creation of direct jobs. The Regional Center Program removes the employee requirement of the Traditional program and replaces it with a less restrictive “indirect employment creation,” which allows the investor to qualify by proving a combination of 10 direct and/or indirect employees.
- • Direct jobs are actual identifiable jobs for qualified employees located within the commercial enterprise into which the EB-5 investor has directly invested his or her capital.
- • Indirect jobs are those jobs shown to have been created collaterally or as a result of capital invested in a commercial enterprise affiliated with a regional center by an EB-5 investor.
Alien investors must:
- 1. Demonstrate that a “qualified investment” is being made in a new commercial enterprise located within an approved Regional Center; and
- 2. Show, using reasonable methodologies, that 10 or more jobs are actually created either directly or indirectly by the new commercial enterprise through revenues generated from increased exports, improved regional productivity, job creation, or increased domestic capital investment resulting from the pilot program.
The EB5 Regional Center Program Benefits
- • A direct route to obtaining a Green Card
- • No day-to-day business management
- • Permanent residency in the United States for you, your spouse, and any children under 21
- • Live, work, and retire anywhere in the United States
- • Become eligible to apply for US citizenship after 5 years of being a green card holder
Each Regional Center program must be pre-approved by the USCIS in order to be eligible to qualify for EB-5 Green Cards.
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The information on this website is not to be considered legal advice. Such information is intended to educate members of the public generally and is not intended to provide solutions to individual problems. Readers are cautioned not to attempt to solve individual problems on the basis of information contained herein and are strongly advised to seek advice from an experienced immigration attorney regarding specific case situations.
