EB-5 INVESTOR GREEN CARDS

For many U.S. immigrants the visa waiting line can take many years. The outdated visa quota system has made it very difficult to obtain residence or green card status. Whether applying through family or employment, the waiting lines for many applicants are as protracted as they are preposterous. Many even with advanced degrees wait for years and family visa waiting lines routinely extend a decade or longer. This delay along with increasingly stringent and complex adjudication standards has made obtaining a green card, a nightmare for many wishing to live permanently in the United States.

Fortunately, there is a route to permanent U.S. residence that does not require labor certification or sponsorship and is readily available in as little as one year from applying:

ADVANTAGES OF THE EB-5 INVESTOR GREEN CARD:

The EB-5 program has many advantages over other employment-based immigrant visa classifications.

• The EB-5 does not require an offer of employment OR an approved labor certification application.

• The EB-5 investors program is historically underutilized; prospective investors will have immigrant visas immediately available to them and need not wait years for a visa number.

• The EB-5 investor does not need to have a particular background or any experience at all. Successful EB-5 petitioners have included:

  • Students

  • Relatively young adults

  • Retirees

  • Investors with limited English language ability

  • Investors with no prior investment, managerial, or entrepreneurial skills or experience; and,

  • Investors with no management experience or entrepreneurial skills.

• The EB-5 investor’s spouse and unmarried children are able to obtain U.S. permanent residence, allowing them to live, work and study in the United States.

• The EB-5 investor in regional centers do not have to be a manager, executive or even an employee in the business, and does not have to direct and control the business. The EB-5 regulation requires the investor only to be “engaged” in the enterprise, which can be as minimal as having day-to-day managerial control or a role in policy formulation.

HOW DO I QUALIFY?

There are 10,000 EB-5 investor visas available each year for investors (and their spouses and unmarried children under 21) who make an investment of $1,000,000, or at least $500,000 in a targeted employment area (high unemployment or rural area), in a commercial enterprise in the United States and who plan to create or preserve at least 10 permanent full time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.

For many prospective investors, the Regional Center Pilot Program appears to be the best option and currently about 90% of all EB-5 petitions are filed through designated Regional Centers. By investing in commercial enterprises located within a designated regional center, the investment amount is reduced to $500,000 and the investor does not have to directly prove job creation but can do so through a combination of direct and indirect jobs.

There are currently over 100 approved Regional Centers, operating in 34 states. A complete list of approved regional centers is available online at http://www.uscis.gov/eb-5centers

WHAT IS THE PROCESS?

There are four steps in obtaining U.S. permanent residence through the EB-5 program:

1. File Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur (I-526) – demonstrating that the investor has invested or has committed to invest in a commercial enterprise in the United States.

2. Application for an immigrant visa through Adjustment of Status (if investor is already in the United States and in lawful status) OR through an application for an immigrant visa (if investor is outside the United States) through the Department of State.

3. Upon approval – the investor, investors’ spouse and unmarried children under 21 are granted conditional permanent resident status for two years.

4. File Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions (Form I-829) – evidencing that the investor has fulfilled the EB-5 requirements, i.e. that the amount was invested in a commercial enterprise, the investment was sustained for a two-year period and that the enterprise created or preserved the requisite employment.

CAN I BECOME A U.S. CITIZEN?

Five years after being granted conditional permanent resident status, once the conditions have been removed, the investor and family may be eligible to apply for naturalization and can choose to become U.S. citizens allowing them to vote in U.S. elections and sponsor family members for permanent residence, among other benefits.


If you have any questions about EB-5 green cards, please contact us at the link above or by email at bernard@wolfsdorf.com

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