Baltimore, Maryland has many benefits for EB-5 investors interested in an EB-5 investment with an EB5AN EB-5 visa project. Working on a Baltimore-based EB-5 project with the EB5AN regional center in Maryland, which covers all neighborhoods of Baltimore, including Mount Vernon and Bolton Hill, has several benefits. Ensure you’re taking full advantage!
The EB5AN Baltimore, Maryland Regional Center
As an EB-5 investor, you can select investments from anywhere in the United States. However, if you live in Baltimore, then you may want to consider investing in projects with EB5AN, a vast network of USCIS-approved regional centers covering the greater Baltimore area.
Baltimore, also known as Charm City, has comprehensive coverage from the EB5AN State of Maryland Regional Center. A qualified EB-5 investor from abroad in pursuit of U.S. permanent residency can invest through EB5AN’s regional center which covers the entire city of Baltimore—as well as the nearby Columbia, Ellicott City, and Ilchester areas.
Why Do Most EB-5 Investors Use Regional Centers?
EB-5 regional centers make the EB-5 investment process easier for prospective EB-5 applicants. Several aspects of the program, such as the demonstration of the required job creation, are much easier with the help of regional centers. For example, only regional centers are allowed to use the indirect method of calculating jobs through an approved economic methodology. Basically, EB-5 investors are only required to show that their invested resources were spent according to the business plan rather than verifying that full time (W-2) employees were employed and remained employed for at least two full years.
EB5AN owns multiple USCIS-approved regional centers with extensive geographic coverage, allowing it to instantly sponsor favorable EB-5 projects in cities across the United States, including Baltimore, Maryland.
Green Card Benefits for Baltimore EB-5 Investors
There are benefits to certain locations of EB-5 projects, but there are also a host of benefits to you personally as an investor. The direct benefits include:
Residency and Citizenship Benefits
- The ability to apply for U.S. citizenship a mere five years as a green card holder with established permanent residency.
- A fast way to gain permanent residency in the U.S. not just for the investor, but their eligible family members, too.
- Retirees with a green card may be eligible to receive any pensions earned outside the U.S. at an earlier time and may also be eligible for benefits such as Medicare.
Travel Benefits
- While you still must consider that certain travel restrictions apply, you are free as a green card holder to leave and reenter the U.S.
- You can travel to any place in the U.S. you want to with a green card.
- As an investor, if you experience a change of circumstances in your country or there’s a significant event, then you and your family can immediately come to the United States.
Education Benefits
- As a U.S. resident, you are free to take advantage of access to public schools at all levels, from elementary through college.
- You’re also allowed as a green card holder to have access to in-state tuitions at institutions of higher education and can work while you take classes or complete internships.
Employment Benefits
- You are free to live anywhere you want in the U.S. with a green card, including states with no income tax.
- There’s no need to find an employer sponsor or visa sponsor to come to the U.S.
- As a green card holder, you do not need H-1B work visa to work.
Primary EB-5 Investment Requirements
EB-5 investments come with a lot of opportunities both personally and financially, but in exchange you are expected to uphold the requirements of the EB-investment. These include:
- A $800,000 EB-5 investment minimum in a targeted employment areas (TEA). Any project you wish to pursue located outside of a TEA needs an investment of $1,050,000. However, all of EB5AN’s EB-5 investment opportunities are located in TEAs and will therefore qualify for the lower investment level of $800,000.
- You must create and maintain at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers that qualify and those jobs must last a bare minimum of two years.
- You can choose to invest in either a new commercial enterprise or a struggling business.
- You must maintain the status of at-risk for the life of the investment. You also must only use funds for investments that have been legally obtained.
How to Evaluate EB-5 Investment Projects
If you’re interested in getting involved as an EB-5 investor based in Baltimore, then it’s crucial that you consider both financial and immigration risk when picking an EB-5 investment project.
We’ve mentioned that one of the requirements of the EB-5 visa investment is that the investment capital must be at risk for the duration of the investment. The reason for this is so that you can show you are serious about your investment and not simply looking for a way to purchase a green card.
The language of “at risk” may be alarming to you, but rest assured it’s not as risky as it sounds. It is recommended that all EB-5 investors conduct thorough due diligence to curtail their exposure to financial and immigration risk.
How can you do this? EB5AN, in collaboration with Klasko Immigration Law Partners, has created an EB-5 Project Risk Assessment Tool for EB-5 investors. Using this tool, you can ensure you’re doing your initial diligence of EB-5 projects from both financial and immigration risk perspectives easily.
Download our EB-5 Project Risk Assessment Questionnaire
EB-5 Investment in Baltimore
Baltimore: Population and Income Demographics
Baltimore is an old city and it’s densely populated. In fact, all of Baltimore’s 614,664 inhabitants live in just 92.1 square miles, meaning that Baltimore houses 7,598 people per square mile.
This large population of people creates a wealth of opportunity for EB-5 investors. By affiliating your EB-5 project with our EB5AN regional center, you can have a real and lasting change on the communities of Baltimore by helping to improve the economy through higher rates of employment – and that improves the lives of everyone.
The Culture and Economy of Baltimore, Maryland
As a city, Baltimore has a lot to offer people from all walks of life. You can visit the National Aquarium with your family, study at the world-famous Johns Hopkins University, or get a degree from the University of Maryland – Baltimore. Baltimore is also an inviting place for foreign investors to begin their new lives in America, applauding the EB-5 Regional Center Program as a vital opportunity to both boost the U.S. economy and improve the lives of investors looking to pursue their version of the American dream.
EB-5 Investors from Baltimore
Residents of Baltimore, Maryland have many EB5AN-backed EB-5 investment projects at their fingertips. You can find out more about EB5 investment projects that are currently available for investment and backed up by an EB5AN EB-5 regional center easily.
It doesn’t matter where you’re from in the world. Foreign nationals looking to make an EB-5 investment should contact the team at EB5AN for help.