The EB-5 Visa Program for Indian Students

Drawn to the United States’ top-ranked universities, over a million international students come to the nation on an F-1 student visa to study each year. However, the F-1 visa carries many restrictions, such as limited employment opportunities. Fortunately for international students, the EB-5 program provides a way around such challenges and offers its own range of benefits.

Established in 1990, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program serves to stimulate the U.S. economy and create jobs through foreign investment. The program has emerged as an enticing and promising opportunity for foreign nationals, including Indian students who wish to pursue higher education and careers in the United States.

In exchange for investing in a qualified business, Indian students can obtain permanent resident status in the U.S. (that is, a Green Card) and eventually become citizens. However, the complete EB-5 investment process is complex and often challenging to navigate without proper guidance.

To help Indian nationals better understand this pathway, this article covers the basics of EB-5 investment, its benefits to Indian investors, and the challenges that Indian nationals may face during their EB-5 journey.

Requirements of the EB-5 Visa Program

Foreign nationals must meet the following basic criteria to successfully obtain a permanent EB-5 visa:

• An investor must have either a net worth of at least $1,000,000, an income of more than $200,000 for the two previous years, or a joint income of $300,000 for two years together with their spouse.
• Inject the minimum investment amount of $1,050,000 into a standard project or a reduced amount of $800,000 into a project with targeted employment area (TEA) designation.
• The investment capital must be injected into a qualifying new commercial enterprise (NCE).
• The chosen EB-5 business must create at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers per EB-5 investor and sustain these positions for a two-year period.
• Investment funds must be transparent, traceable, and legally sourced.

Benefits of the EB-5 Visa for Indian Students

The EB-5 program offers a variety of benefits to Indian students, especially regarding education and employment. By obtaining a U.S. Green Card through the EB-5 program, foreign students can enjoy better admission rates, tuition savings, unrestricted job opportunities, and open-access to the U.S. job market after graduation.

Pursuing Higher Education

U.S. colleges consistently rank among the world’s top universities, making them attractive to both domestic and international students and resulting in a highly competitive admissions process.

Moreover, U.S. colleges accept fewer international students than they do domestic ones. Green Card holders are considered residents, meaning they apply alongside U.S. citizens instead of international students, thus giving EB-5 investors better odds at being accepted into a U.S. university.

Better acceptance rates are not the only way foreign students can benefit from an EB-5 visa. Since students with EB-5 visas are considered U.S. residents, they are eligible for the lower in-state tuition rates offered at schools in their state of residence. This can significantly reduce the cost of college, with some students saving as much as $22,000 each year.

Furthermore, if tuition is still too high after in-state deductions, EB-5 students can apply for grants, scholarships, and financial aid through programs such as Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA).

Employment Opportunities and Extended Residency

In addition to the competitive admissions process and high tuition fees, international students on the F-1 visa also face work restrictions. While they may work off campus in certain circumstances, most are restricted to on-campus jobs. Needless to say, this limits a student’s opportunities to grow their career and gain valuable work experience.

Students with EB-5 visas are not subject to the same restrictions as other international students. Rather, they have the same freedom as domestic students when it comes to job opportunities, meaning they can take full-time or part-time positions off campus, apply for internships, and apply for postgraduate programs.

Moreover, unlimited work opportunities allow for extra income and a more proficient resume upon graduation. Students who gain valuable work experience during their studies have an advantage over those who can’t, meaning students with an EB-5 visa have better chances on the U.S. job market after graduation.

International students who wish to remain in the United States after graduation must apply for another visa to extend their stay. Most choose to apply for the H-1B visa, which is a lottery-based system that requires employer-sponsorship, making it both difficult to obtain and an uncertain bet.

Once again, the EB-5 visa remedies this issue, as students with an EB-5 Green Card can continue to live and work freely in the nation following graduation. In addition, the EB-5 visa does not have an employer sponsorship requirement, meaning students can avoid this process and compete freely in the job market alongside their U.S. counterparts.

Finally, the EB-5 visa is far more permanent than a student or work visa. Whereas the latter two must be periodically renewed — and some work visas may only be renewed a small number of times — the EB-5 program provides a permanent Green Card. In fact, EB-5 visa holders may apply for U.S. citizenship after five years of residence, if desired.

Challenges of the EB-5 Program for Indian Students

While the EB-5 program offers a variety of benefits to investors and students, recognizing and understanding potential risks is essential to a successful investment process.

As such, it is strongly encouraged for all EB-5 investors to consult industry professionals, such as EB-5 immigration attorneys, throughout the entire process. These experts can answer questions, offer advice, and help investors avoid any pitfalls that could jeopardize their visa status.

The potential dangers of the EB-5 investment process can be organized into two categories: financial risk and immigration risk. The former deals with anything that jeopardizes an individual’s investment capital, and the latter involves an investor’s chances at obtaining a permanent U.S. Green Card.

Even for accredited investors, an EB-5 project can be an intimidating financial endeavor. Depending on the location of the investment project, an applicant must provide at least $800,000 or $1,050,000 for the initial investment, not to mention additional charges such as filing fees and administration costs.

On top of that, in order to comply with the program’s “at-risk” requirement, there can be no guarantee of repayment. In other words, an investor risks a partial or total loss of funds.

Financial risk largely comes down to the EB-5 investment project itself. Choosing a reputable and reliable project with the help of industry experts is the best way to ensure financial safety.

There is an annual cap on the number of EB-5 visas that can be allocated each year, and this pool is further divided amongst countries. When the number of EB-5 applications exceeds the available supply, the U.S. government sets a cut-off date that dictates visa availability, a process known as visa retrogression. India is among the nations that have historically high EB-5 demand, meaning most Indian investors are subject to longer wait-times than visa applicants from other nations. Therefore, this aspect of the EB-5 immigration process is important to keep in mind for Indian investors. EB-5 applicants can monitor their country’s status on the monthly visa bulletins released by the Department of State.

To bypass lengthy wait-times, Indian investors should consider aiming for a reserved visa, which are visas set-aside for certain types of projects. Investors who qualify for a reserved visa are granted expedited processing regardless of their nation’s visa availability, meaning they can “skip the line” and receive their EB-5 visa much sooner.

Indian investors can get a reserved visa by investing in a rural EB-5 project.

Getting Started on the EB-5 Process

The EB-5 program is perhaps the fastest way to get U.S. Green Cards for yourself and your family. Indian students can reap many benefits from this unique immigration pathway.

To get started on the EB-5 process, we invite you to schedule a free consultation with EB5AN.