EB-5 Visa Requirements: A Comprehensive Guide for Foreign Investors
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- September 15, 2024
EB-5 Visa Requirements: A Comprehensive Guide for Foreign Investors
If you want to begin investing in American enterprises as a non-U.S. citizen, the government offers you the perfect opportunity in the form of an EB-5 visa. Indeed, this visa is rather popular as a faster way of gaining the status of a resident in the United States. Effective since 1990, this particular lets one participate in the U.S. economy and become a lawful foreign investor.
This document contains all the information you need about the EB-5 visa investment requirements to correctly fill out the necessary forms.
An Overview of EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
The EB-5 immigrant investor visa is a program offered by the U.S. government to seek foreign capital to boost citizens’ employment rates. The EB-5 visa investors must provide a required sum of money to new or struggling business enterprises in commercial undertakings, generating full-time employment for U.S. citizens.
Legal Benefits For the EB-5 Visa Investors
Once you become an EB-5 visa holder, you have advantages beyond your freedom to invest in U.S. businesses and growing startups, such as:
1. Permanent Residency
Once you have lived in the country for five years with your Green Card, you can apply for U.S. naturalization. This benefit applies to your spouse and any unmarried children under 21.
2. No Sponsor Required
Unlike other U.S. visa categories, EB-5 doesn’t need your employer or family member to sponsor you. This provides you great flexibility on how you plan to move forward as an immigrant investor in the United States.
3. Right to Live and Work Anywhere
With the EB-5 immigrant investor program, you get a Green Card that allows you to live and work in any part of the USA without state restrictions.
4. Quality Education and Healthcare For Your Kids
The EB-5 immigrant investor program covers your children’s (those under 21) academic needs. They will have access to standard public schools.
EB-5 Visa Investment Requirements: Who Can Apply?
As a foreign investor interested in contributing to the U.S. economy, you must fulfill several EB-5 visa investment requirements. Here is the list of the same:
1. Financial Investment
Invest at least $1,050,000 in new commercial business (NCE) or $800,000 if you invest in a targeted employment area (TEA). These areas often have high unemployment rates or are in rural locations.
2. Job Creation
Your investment has to generate a minimum of ten full-time jobs for USA-based employees within two years after you receive your conditional residency. Your investment may create jobs directly by workers in your business. However, indirect job creation will also count if you invest in regional centers.
3. Lawful Source of Funds
When seeking immigrant investor visas, you must prove that the money you are investing in the project is legally sourced. These can be earnings, gifts, bequests and inheritance, borrowed funds, or business earnings.
Essential Documents Needed For EB-5 Visa Application
To apply for the EB-5 visa, you must provide several documents that show your legitimacy as a foreign investor. Prepare the below-mentioned document:
- Personal Identification: You can deliver relevant documents such as valid , birth certificates, marriage certificates, and any other government-issued identity card.
- Evidence of Investment: Provide copies of bank statements, records of the transactions, contract or purchase agreement as required for NCE investments.
- Business Documentation: You must come up with a good business plan to prove to the decision-makers how your investment will lead to the employment of Americans. Prove that you began your business or have remodeled/restructured it within the past five years.
- Job Creation Evidence: Provide your employment payroll records and research papers concerning economic predictions by economists.
- Compliance Documents: Ensure that you partner with authentic funding agencies that can provide the capital for your investment. Draw legal documents that depict detailed capital investment structure and distribution.
The EB-5 Visa Application Process
While aiming for an EB-5 visa, be well-informed of the steps involved in the application process. We recommend that you seek the services of a legal expert for a smooth application process.
Let’s explore the steps you need to take:
Step 1. Find the Right EB-5 Investment Project
Find an appropriate investment for your EB-5 program. Determine whether to invest directly or through an approved regional center in a new commercial enterprise.
Step 2: Invest the Amount Required
To invest in a project, you must choose the right amount: at least $1,050,000 million or maybe even as little as $800,000 for targeted employment areas.
Step 3: File Form I-526
Next, file Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor, after making your investment. This proves you have satisfied all the investment and job creation requirements. It’s a vital step, as your capital will be held in escrow until USCIS approves your I-526 petition.
Step 4: Get a Green Card (conditional)
After your I-526 petition is approved, you and your family will get two years of conditional permanent residency. This status allows you to reside and work in the U.S. while meeting minimum investment and job creation regulations.
Step 5: Submit Form I-829 to Remove Conditions
You must file Form I-829, Petition by Investor, to remove conditions on permanent resident status within the last 90 days of your conditional residency. You will have to prove your investment created the jobs. After approval, you can obtain an unrestricted P.R. status.
Ready to Invest in U.S. Enterprises?
No other immigrant investor visas are as rewarding for the U.S. economic system as EB-5.
Moreover, it’s a great way to get your Green Card (permanent residency) as a foreign national. Although the steps and application forms can be complicated, the outcome is profitable.
At Di Martino Law Group, we ensure you are very well-prepared with needed documentation and have professional guidance for successful visa approvals. Contact us today to learn more.
FAQs
1. Can you apply for the EB-5 visa while on another visa (i.e., H-1B)?
If you are in the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa like H-1B, EB-5 is for you, too. If your I-526 petition is approved and you have your visa number, you can then file Form I-485 to adjust your status to a conditional permanent resident without leaving the United States.
2. What is the average processing time for an EB-5 visa?
The processing time for the EB-5 depends on which USCIS service center you file with. At present, it takes between 31 and 52 months to process the I-526 petition (for conditional residency) and an additional waiting period of up to another 22 –45 months for approval of the I－829, which is removal conditions from your Green Card.
3. What if the EB-5 investment project fails?
In such a case, you may lose your invested capital and immigration status. The immigration authority may also request that you return to your home country.
4. Is there any restriction on the type of business you can invest in?
You can not invest in any nonprofit organizations using your EB-1 funding. However, You can invest in any legal for-profit business across the USA.