EB-5 Visa

EB-5 Visa (EB-5 Green Card) – Immigrant Investor Visa

BREAKING NEWS: Program extended based on $500,000 investment until December 11. 2015.

American Green Card - United States Permanent Residency Card Closeup.


Emigrating and relocating to the United States through the EB-5 Investor Visa allows you and your immediate family to live, work or retire anywhere within the United States.
Green Card provides permanent residency for the applicant, his or her spouse and any children under the age of 21.

EB-5 Investment Visa Programs – Benefits

  • Permanent Residency – International investors may enter a limited partnership wich allows few or no day-to-day management requirements for their selected investment program. The EB-5 Visa provides investors with a Green Card which is allowing foreign investors to live and work in the United States upon their decision.
  • Regional Center Investment Programs – Most of approved EB-5 regional centers are working with foreign investors to invest in prearranged programs in high unemployment areas (TEA) for lower amount of investment which is $500,000, plus administrative fees.
  • No Sponsor Needed – International investors from abroad uses their own personal funds and do not require sponsorship from either any family member or an Employer.
  • Backlogs without quotas – There is no backlog for the EB-5 Visa Investor category while normally there are many delays and backlogs for employment and family based green card categories.

EB-5 Investment / Green Card Visa Options

There are two main EB-5 Investment programs :
– the Direct EB-5 Visa Program
– EB-5 Visa Regional Center Program.

Direct EB-5 Visa Program

Applicants to qualify under the Direct EB-5 Visa program, they must meet the following three main requirements:

  • Make an investment in a new commercial enterprise.
  • Make an investment of at least $1 million into that enterprise ($500,000 if the enterprise is located in a rural or high unemployment area specified as TEA-described below).
  • Lead to the creation of direct employment for at least 10 full-time U.S. workers (new employee or save their employment as actually at risk).

The investment may consist of the contribution of various forms of capital, including cash, equipment, inventory, property, and other tangible equivalents.

EB-5 Visa Regional Center Program

This involves an investment in a commercial enterprise affiliated with a Regional Center. The minimum investment of each Investor is $500,000 if the commercial enterprise is located in a rural or high unemployment area (TEA).
Thus, for those who are not interested in day-to-day management Regional Center programs offer a more acceptable form of investment.

The investor is not required to live in the place of investment; rather, he or she can live wherever he/she wishes in the United States.

The Regional Center Program removes the employee requirement of the Regular 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.

The EB-5 Regional Center Program Benefits

  • A direct route to a Green Card
  • Live, work and retire anywhere in the United States
  • No day-to-day business management
  • Permanent residency in the United States for you, your spouse and any of your children under 21 years.
  • Opportunity to become a U.S Citizen after 5 years of being a green card holder

Each Regional Center program must be pre-approved by USCIS (US Citizen and Immigration Services) in order to be eligible to qualify for EB-5 Visa Green Cards.

Summarized EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program organized by Regional Center is Permanent Residence through a $500,000 or $1,000,000 Investment.
The required size of the investment depends on Employment Area.
Targeted Employment Area (TEA)
allows lower amount of investment and requires $500,000.
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Specification of TEA in Florida listed here.

Of course EB-5 Investor can choose any program handled by Regional Center from all territory of the United States of America.

Non-Targeted Employment Area requires $1,000,000 investment from the foreign Investor.
The minimum investment amount can be amended by regulation, and will automatically adjust in proportion to the Consumer Price Index every five years.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking member Senator Patrick Leahy introduced sweeping, bipartisan legislation on June 3, 2015, to reauthorize and reform the EB-5 Regional Center program, which is currently set to expire on September 30, 2015.

The bill would extend the EB-5 Regional Center program for a period of five years to September 30, 2020. Which is good news for the International Investors.
But there is some changes and the main in the required amount.
Senate is going to raises the investment threshold to $800,000 for TEAs and $1.2 million for non-TEAs from the date of December 11, 2015.
All the projects to be started in the nearly future enjoys the current regulations in amount (even not finished until December 11, 2015).

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