US EB5 Investment Green Card

In 1992, the American Congress approved a new pilot program which was reauthorized later to stimulate the USA economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. This visa offers a method of securing a green card for foreign investors who are interested to invest money in the United States.
To quality for EB5 Investment visa, investors need to invest money in commercial enterprises such as:

• Partnership (limited or general)

• A Sole proprietorship

• Joint venture

• Holding company

• Corporation

• Business trust (which can be publicly or privately owned)

Requirements – Jobs Creation

• Need to preserve or create 10 jobs that are full-time and exclusively for eligible US workers in a time span of two years. This condition of two years can be extended under special circumstances.

• Need to preserve or create direct or indirect jobs

• It is important to note that the investor is only credited for preserving job when it comes to troubled business.
Direct jobs are the ones provided in a company where the investor has made direct investment.
Indirect jobs are the ones provided in a company that are affiliated with a regional center.
Regional Centers are the third party companies that handle the investor’s requirement of creating set of jobs.

Capital – Requirements
Minimum required cash investments are as below

• For general areas, the minimum requirement is $1 million.

• The minimum requirement for Targeted Employment (rural or high unemployment) Areas is $500,000.

It is also important to note that the investment capital cannot be borrowed from others.

Targeted Unemployment Area is the one that is experiencing at least 150 percent unemployment based on the national average.
Rural Areas are the ones outside city boundaries or towns that have a population of less than 20,000.

The investors and his/her dependents are granted with a conditional permit for Permanent Residence for a period of two years. The investor needs to submit evidence in the form of documentation that he/she has made the full investment along with the creation of 10 jobs, at least 90 days before the expiry of the EB5 Investment Visa.