A U.S. Green Card, or the Permanent Resident Card, entitles immigrants to permanently live and work in the United States with access to almost all the privileges a U.S. citizen enjoys. Nearly a million individuals receive this coveted piece of document every year, which also authorizes them to apply for U.S. citizenship five years after becoming a Green Card holder.
The EB-5 investor visa, which stands for employment-based fifth preference category visa, is one of the most straightforward ways through which an immigrant can obtain a Green Card by investing a minimum required capital in a U.S. business enterprise.
In this article, we will go over the basics of the EB-5 program and the reasons for its increasing popularity with foreign investors.
The EB-5 Program
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program was introduced by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by immigrant investors. It enables foreign nationals and their eligible dependent family members (spouse and unmarried children under 21) to obtain lawful permanent residency in the United States by investing in a commercial enterprise and creating 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.
The program is administered by the federal agency United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
In 1992, Congress created the EB-5 Regional Center Program to support the EB-5 program by encouraging participants to invest in projects associated with USCIS-designated regional centers.
Regional centers are public or private economic units that are involved in promoting economic growth and improving regional productivity in the United States.
The regional center program boosted the popularity of the EB-5 visa as it offered several benefits to investors, such as no liability of creating an entirely new business, choice of more projects to invest in, ease of meeting the job creation criteria, and limited responsibility in the management of the project.
The success of the regional center program can be gauged from the fact that in FY2022, out of the total 10,885 EB-5 visas issued, a staggering 10,264 went to regional center investors.
Following a brief suspension in 2021, the program was reauthorized for another five years by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) enactment on March 15, 2022.
The new legislation introduced substantial reforms in the program, notably several security and integrity measures to protect investors, which catapulted the already in-demand EB-5 visa to new heights of popularity — resulting in a multifold increase in the number of EB-5 applications post-reforms.
Highlights of the RIA
Revised Minimum Capital Requirement
With the passing of the RIA, the minimum investment amount for projects in designated targeted employment areas (TEAs), i.e., rural and high-unemployment areas, and for specific infrastructure projects, was raised to $800,000. The minimum capital investment for all other projects was revised to $1,050,000.
New Quota of Set-Aside Visas
In a significant move to direct EB-5 investments to low economic activity areas, 32% of the total EB-5 visas were reserved as set-aside visas — allocating 20% for investments in rural areas, 10% for investments in high-unemployment regions, and 2% for investments in developmental infrastructure projects.
Applicants investing in projects that qualify for the set-aside category can skip the long queue of applications in the unreserved category and potentially obtain an EB-5 visa as soon as their I-526 petition is approved, with minimal waiting time.
This mainly benefits Chinese and Indian investors. Both countries are experiencing a substantial backlog of EB-5 applications, resulting in long wait times.
Moreover, RIA stipulates that rural investments shall receive priority processing.
Concurrent Filing
The EB-5 Concurrent Filing provision of RIA allows investors already residing legally in the United States on a non-immigrant visa to file Form I-485 for adjustment of status (AOS) without waiting for the approval of their EB-5 application.
After filing for AOS, the applicants can continue to stay lawfully in the United States, receive a work authorization document and international travel permit, and enjoy the benefits of permanent residency while their EB-5 petition is awaiting adjudication.
Concurrent filing has come as a boon to many temporary visa holders in the United States, especially H1B workers facing severe job cuts and international students looking for permanent residency after finishing their studies.
More Stability and Security
Reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program and integrity safeguards for the EB-5 industry brought a sense of stability to all stakeholders. It also increased the confidence of prospective investors in the program.
The EB-5 industry will now be more accountable with stricter regulations, regular audits, and third-party fund administrators.
RIA also offers protection for innocent investors against events outside their control, such as project termination or regional center debarment, by allowing them to reinvest in another EB-5 project while keeping the priority processing dates unchanged.
Thus, due to its numerous advantages and recent investor-friendly reforms that further strengthened investors’ trust in the EB-5 program, the demand for the EB-5 visa is higher than ever.
Complete unrestricted freedom to live and work anywhere in the United States, no requirement for any specialized skills or a sponsor, access to subsidized world-class education and good-quality life, sure-shot prospects of getting U.S. citizenship, and promise of a safe and prosperous future — the EB-5 visa program offers it all.
Expectedly, scores of affluent immigrant investors are queuing up to take this route for settling down in the United States permanently.
