Are you a foreign national living and working in Texas? Do you want to gain permanent residency in the United States? The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is a great way for you to gain permanent residency in the United States by investing in the country’s economy.
You might already be considering applying for an EB-5 visa and be in the process of deciding where to invest. Although EB-5 investors can choose to invest anywhere in the U.S., investing in a Texan project offers several benefits—we’ll explain what they are later in this article.
Just like in other U.S. states, the easiest way to obtain permanent residency in the U.S, including the State of Texas, is to make an EB-5 investment in Texas or elsewhere in the U.S. through a regional center. This article tells you more about regional center investment and how you can gain a U.S. Green Card through one of them.
Why Do Most EB-5 Texas Investors Use Regional Centers?
EB-5 regional centers streamline the EB-5 investment process for EB-5 applicants. They also simplify the process of showing that your investment has created 10 jobs—this is a critical requirement for your EB-5 Green Card application to be approved.
Regional centers make it easier to demonstrate job creation because they use the indirect method of calculating jobs through an approved economic methodology. This means that EB-5 investors only need to show that their invested funds were spent according to the business plan.
Those who don’t invest through a regional center, on the other hand, need to prove that 10 full-time (W-2) employees were hired and remained employed for at least two full years. This is a lot harder to do.
Living and Working in the State of Texas
As mentioned before, potential EB-5 investors may invest in EB-5 projects located anywhere in the United States, and a Green Card allows an EB-5 investor to live and work anywhere in the U.S. The state of Texas is appealing to many immigrants for the following reasons:
Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest in the United States. The city is highly diverse and is one of the nation’s largest Latino, African American, and Asian American population centers.
San Antonio is a beautiful city located at the axis of three different types of terrain: hill country, South Texas plains, and prairies and lakes.
Austin is the capital of Texas, the home of Texas University, and an influential center for politics, technology, music, film, and food.
Dallas and Fort Worth are part of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. This is the most populated area in Texas, with a population exceeding 7 million people.
Fort Worth, sometimes referred to as “Cowtown,” is closer to its cowboy roots than neighboring Dallas.
Sugar Land is one of the most affluent and fastest-growing cities in Texas. It’s home to the headquarters of Imperial Sugar. This company’s main sugar refinery and distribution center were once located in the city.
Plano city is a hub for many corporate headquarters. Plano is also considered to be the safest city in the nation, according to Forbes.
Irving is the 13th-most populous city in Texas, with a bustling population of more than 200,000 residents.
Carrollton is a fast-growing suburb of Dallas in the prairies and lakes region of Texas.
McKinney is just 30 miles north of downtown Dallas and is one of the fastest growing regions in the United States.
Grand Prairie is the 16th largest city in Texas. It known to be a well-established distribution center with approximately 80-million square feet of the Great Southwest Industrial District.
Green Card Benefits for Texas EB-5 Investors
The direct benefits of investors residing in Texas making an EB-5 investment in the U.S. include:
Green Card Benefits for Texas-based EB-5 Investors
- EB-5 is one of the fastest methods of obtaining permanent residency in the United States for the EB-5 investor, their spouse, and their unmarried children under 21 years of age
- Retired Green Card holders can access their pensions earned abroad and in the United States. They may also qualify for Medicare and other social welfare programs
- Green Card holders may apply for U.S. citizenship after a minimum of five years of established permanent residency in the United States
Employment Benefits
- Green card holders are free to live and work anywhere in the United States, without restriction
- Live anywhere, from the beaches of California and Hawaii to the mountains of Colorado; from a quiet, rural town to the hustle and bustle of New York City
- Live in states with no state income tax, such as Texas
- The EB-5 program does not require a visa sponsor or employer sponsor
- Green card holders do not need H-1B work visa in order to work
Travel Benefits
- Green card holders can leave and enter the country without being denied reentry, although some travel restrictions apply.
- Green card holders are free to travel to any part of the United States.
Education Benefits
- Green Card holders have free access to public elementary, middle, and high schools, and lower-cost in-state tuition at public colleges and universities
- U.S. residency improves the likelihood of U.S. university admission by as much as 350%.
- Green card holders qualify for in-state tuition, financial aid, and scholarships.
- Permanent residents can also work while studying, complete internships, and apply for postgraduate positions.
Primary EB-5 Investment Requirements
The primary EB-5 investment requirements can be summarized as follows:
- Investing a minimum of $800,000 for EB-5 investments made in an infrastructure project, or in rural or high unemployment areas designated as targeted employment areas (TEAs). Projects outside of a targeted employment area require an investment of $1,050,000. However, all of EB5AN’s EB-5 investment projects are located in TEAs and qualify for the lower minimum investment threshold
- Creating or preserving the economic equivalent of at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers that last a minimum of two years
- Investing in a new commercial enterprise or a troubled business.
- Maintaining the at-risk status of the investment and using investment funds that have been lawfully sourced.
How to Evaluate EB-5 Investment Projects
EB-5 investors should evaluate both financial and immigration risk when selecting an EB-5 investment project.
One of the requirements of a successful EB-5 visa investment is that the investment capital must be at risk for the duration of the investment. This is to ensure investors actually invest their capital and are not simply “buying” a U.S. green card.
“At risk” does not mean that EB-5 investors are required to invest in “risky” projects. On the contrary, EB-5 investors are strongly recommended to conduct thorough due diligence to minimize their exposure to financial and immigration risk.
EB5AN, in collaboration with Klasko Immigration Law Partners, has developed an EB-5 Project Risk Assessment Tool for EB-5 investors. This highly functional, easy-to-use tool guides investors through the initial diligence of EB-5 projects from both financial and immigration risk perspectives.
Download our EB-5 Project Risk Assessment Questionnaire
Texas Socio-Economic Data
Texas: Population and income demographics
According to the 2023 U.S. Census, Texas has a population of approximately 30 million people, of which approximately 14.9 million are in the labor force. Of these, 14.5 million are employed, and 632,000 are unemployed. These population numbers represent approximately 10.2 million households.
General economic outlook
Texas covers an area of 268,581 square miles, with a width of 773 miles and a length of 790 miles.
The capital of Texas is Austin, the largest city is Houston, and the largest metro area is the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington area. The real gross domestic product (GDP) of Texas in 2022 was $1.88 trillion. Real per capita GDP has increased from $47,664 in 2000 to an estimated $63,335 in 2023. Based on its GDP, Texas has the second-largest economy in the United States.
Texas’ Gross State Product is comparable to the GDP of Russia or Canada, which have the world’s 8th- and 9th-largest economies, respectively. Texas’ economy is the second largest of any country subdivision globally, behind California. Its nominal GDP per capita in 2023 was estimated at $81,130, ranking 16th in the nation. Texas has the highest number of Fortune 500 company headquarters in the United States.
Invest in EB-5 Projects With EB5AN
EB5AN has EB-5 investment projects that are available to foreign nationals living anywhere in the world, including Texas. Contact us today to inquire about EB-5 investment projects that are currently open to investment and are sponsored by an EB5AN EB-5 regional center.
No matter where you live in Texas, if you are a foreign national considering making an EB-5 investment, the team at EB5AN can help. Click here to schedule a call to learn more about currently available EB-5 investment opportunities.
