EB-5 Investor Visa

The EB-5 visa program is an immigrant visa category designed for foreign investors who wish to obtain permanent residency in the United States.

Some key points about the EB-5 investor visa:

1. Investment Requirement: To be eligible for the EB-5 visa, an individual must invest a minimum amount of capital in a new commercial enterprise in the United States. The required minimum investment is generally $1.8 million. However, if the investment is made in a targeted employment area (TEA), which is either a rural area or an area with high unemployment, the minimum investment amount is reduced to $900,000.

2. Job Creation Requirement: The EB-5 program aims to stimulate the U.S. economy by creating jobs for U.S. workers. Investors are required to create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers within two years of the investor's admission to the United States as a conditional permanent resident.

3. Regional Centers: Many EB-5 investors choose to invest through USCIS-designated regional centers. Regional centers are entities approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that facilitate EB-5 investments in specific geographic areas. Investing through a regional center offers certain advantages, such as indirect job creation calculations and a more flexible approach to fulfilling the job creation requirement.

4. Conditional Permanent Residency: Initially, EB-5 investors are granted conditional permanent residency for a two-year period. During this conditional period, investors must demonstrate that they have fulfilled the investment and job creation requirements. Once the conditions are removed, they receive permanent residency, granting them the right to live and work in the United States indefinitely.

5. Visa Availability: The EB-5 visa program has an annual quota of 10,000 visas. Within this quota, a maximum of 7,200 visas is allocated to investors who invest in TEAs. However, the demand for EB-5 visas has historically exceeded the available visa numbers, leading to a waiting period for visa issuance