Advantages of an EB-5 Green Card for Financing and Career Opportunities

An EB-5 Green Card has many benefits—including a secure life in the U.S., access to quality healthcare services, and opportunities to study in world-class educational institutions, among many others. While all these benefits are great, for most foreign nationals, the two key benefits of an EB-5 Green Card are increased access to financing and career opportunities.

In this article, we will explore how an EB-5 Green Card can benefit both your financial situation and career growth.

Access to Financing With an EB-5 Green Card

An EB-5 Green Card makes it easier to secure financing for major purchases like car loans, mortgages, and business loans. Most lenders are unwilling to lend to foreign investors who are not permanent U.S. residents. And even those willing to lend to non-U.S. or temporary residents only tend to lend a small amount.

Holding a Green Card shows that you’ve put down roots in the U.S. You have a permanent home address and most likely an office address. This is why lenders tend to be more willing to trust you and offer favorable financing options.

Let’s say you want to buy a home worth $1,000,000. As a Green Card holder, you’ll likely get a loan covering 70% to 80% of the purchase cost at a 7% interest rate. Non-permanent residents typically won’t get that much. They’ll probably get a 40% to 50% loan at a higher interest rate.

Access to these financing options makes it much easier for Green Card holders to improve their lives in the U.S., both for them and their dependent family members.

Other Financial Benefits of Holding an EB-5 Green Card

Reduced Property and Capital Gains Tax

Green Card holders can enjoy more favorable property and capital gains tax requirements in most U.S. states. For example, in Florida, residents may benefit from exemptions that can reduce the taxable value of their property by up to $50,000. This exemption is not available to non-residents, potentially causing non-residents to pay higher property taxes. So, being a Green Card holder may reduce your total cost of property ownership.

Green Card holders also pay less capital gains tax on home sales. Say you bought your home for $1,000,000, and now you’re selling for $1,500,000 a few years later. As a Green Card holder, you won’t have to pay capital gains tax on the first $250,000 profit. If you’re married and filing jointly with your spouse, the tax exemption increases to the first $500,000 profit. This exemption usually does not apply to non-residents—they’ll have to pay a top tax rate on the entire profit.

Additionally, non-resident aliens may be subject to FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act), which requires the buyer to withhold a certain percentage of the sales price when a non-resident sells U.S. property.

Improved Access to Education Financing

U.S. permanent residents benefit from reduced in-state tuition rates at most U.S. public universities and colleges. In-state tuition allows legal residents of a state to pay lower fees to attend higher public institutions in the state. Children of EB-5 investors can often benefit from this reduced rate once they receive their EB-5 Green Cards.

A Green Card also gives you access to most financial aid, including institutional, state, and federal scholarships and grants available to U.S. citizens. This aid, in conjunction with reduced tuition rates, makes it much easier for Green Card holders and their dependent children to pursue higher education.

Retirement Benefits

EB-5 Green Card holders may also qualify for financial support after retirement. Just like U.S. citizens, they can receive retirement checks from the pension funds they contributed to in their home country and the U.S. They may also benefit from social security, Medicare, and other financial aid programs if needed.

Some retirees can even work part-time and continue receiving a salary along with their pension checks.

Access to Career Opportunities With an EB-5 Green Card

The United States is a land of limitless opportunities, but many of these opportunities depend on your residency status—put simply, you’ll have limited access to these opportunities as a non-permanent resident.

A Green Card, on the other hand, opens you to all the career advancement and business opportunities in the U.S. in several ways.

No Employer Sponsorship Requirement

A U.S. Green Card allows you to pursue your career in the United States without employer sponsorship. Most nonimmigrant visas, like the H-1B and L-1 visas, require you to be sponsored by a specific type of U.S. employer. This limits your career choices, as you can only get an H-1B visa if you qualify for a specialty occupation and find an employer willing to sponsor you.

Even if you decide to pursue a Green Card through the EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 routes, these visas are also employer sponsored except under some very specific circumstances. Your employer must file on your behalf, and you must continue working for them to remain eligible until you get your Green Card. And given the heavy backlogs in these categories, you may be stuck in an unfavorable employment situation for several years.

An EB-5 Green Card removes the limitation of employer sponsorship. You can work for any employer you choose in any state, and you can switch employers or careers whenever.

Ability to Start and Run a Business Anywhere in the U.S.

It is difficult to start a business in the U.S. while holding a nonimmigrant visa like the H-1B and L-1 visas. These visas also limit you to a specified location in the U.S. because they’re tied to a specified employer, and you often have to live within the same vicinity to work for them.

Aside from traditional employment opportunities, holding an EB-5 Green Card also allows you to start your own business or do freelance work anywhere in the U.S. Additionally, being a Green Card holder also increases your chances of obtaining financing to start and run your business.

Enhance Your Investment Opportunities With EB5AN

An EB-5 Green Card offers foreign nationals a reliable route to enhance their financing and career opportunities—even more so for those already in the U.S. on nonimmigrant visas. A Green Card secures your ability to remain in the country and grants you better access to financing and professional advancement opportunities.

The first step to benefiting from an EB-5 Green Card is consulting with EB-5 professionals and choosing the right EB-5 project.

EB5AN can guide you through this process. We’ve helped over 2,300 families become permanent residents in the U.S. through the EB-5 program.

For more information about the EB-5 program and help getting started, book a free one-on-one consultation with our EB-5 experts today.