Created by Congress in 1990, the EB5 Immigrant Investor Program gives foreign nationals U.S. visas in exchange for investing in job-creating new commercial enterprises.
The Immigrant Investor Visa Program
Wildly popular with countries around the world, the EB5 Program offers a unique pathway to the American dream. Unlike other visa programs, there are no employment , extraordinary skill, or language requirements to qualify for the EB5 visa. There's only two requirements a potential EB5 investor must meet. One is the financial requirement. An investment of $1 million, or $500,000 in a targeted employment area, must be made into a qualified project. The investor must be able to show USCIS that their funds came from lawful sources. The second requirement is to select a project to invest in that will create 10 full time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.
Direct Investment or Regional Center Investment
Within the EB5 Program, there are two investment options an investor must choose between. The first is the Basic EB5 Program or the Direct Investment and the second is the EB5 Regional Center Pilot Program or the Regional Center Investment. The former is for entrepreneurs who would like to run and control their own new commercial enterprise. The latter program is for applicants who have little interest in running their own new commercial enterprise and would much rather have a regional center handle the management.
The requirement that the project must be an at-risk project and it must create 10 full-time qualified jobs is the same for both programs, however, the types of jobs that can be countered differ significantly. Direct Investment projects can only count direct job creation, whereas, Regional Center Investments can count direct, indirect, and induced job creation making fulfilling program requirements much easier.
Targeted Employment Area (TEA) Designation
Targeted Employment Area (TEA) designation is extremely important to EB5 investors. Investing in a non-TEA project will mean that the investor must invest $1 million in a project, but investing in a TEA project means that amount is reduced to $500,000.
A TEA is an area that is either rural or has a high unemployment rate compared to the national average rate. States can designate particular areas that they would like to see more economic growth. Therefore, cities like New York City or Los Angeles may qualify as a TEA despite not appearing to be rural or having a high unemployment rate. Consulting with a regional center can help you learn more about what areas qualify.
Investor Due Diligence
Selecting a project that will fulfill the EB5 Program requirements takes thorough due diligence. Investigating the reputations of all the professionals you work with is a necessary step. If you chose a regional center project, it's important to find out that regional center's project history, the number of I-526 Petitions that have been approved, the number of I-829 Petitions that have been approved, and the number of investors that have received their investment money back.
Consult with an immigration attorney to assistance with due diligence. An EB5 immigration attorney is needed for the I-526 and I-829 petition filings, but they can also help with reviewing project viability.
For more information, send us a message or fill out our free EB5 evaluation below.
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