The EB-5 program is not easy. It is not something you pay money for and boos a green card. Here’s an overview of the requirements necessary to qualify for the EB-5 visa program. Like many countries, the United States offers lawful permanent residency to wealthy foreign nationals, specifically business investors, who can invest in the United States economy. Your spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 can also get green cards as accompanying relatives. See investment immigration visa usa for more. However, it is not like paying an entry fee to get a green card. No, you must meet some strict eligibility requirements before you can apply for permanent residency this means.
Eligibility Requirements in Category EB-5
Applicants for a green card through EB5 investment must:
Invest a minimum amount of $900,000 in a U.S. business, and take an active role in that business, though they do not need to control it.
What is that minimum amount?
The moment the answer is complex. Under regulation passed in 2019, an EB-5 investor needs to invest $1.8 million in a new or expanded U.S. business, or $900,000 if it’s in a targeted unemployment area. However, a federal judge discovered in June 2021 that the regulation was wrongly passed, then returned the rule to a minimum of $1 million naturally or $500,000 in high unemployment areas.
Get ready to allow your money tied up in the business for some years. After your green card is approved, your permanent resident status will be conditional for two years. During the 90-day before the expiration of the two-year conditional residency, you are expected to submit a petition to remove the conditions and show that you invested the required amount and created ten full-time jobs.
The investment fund must be acquired lawfully. It does not matter if it is an inheritance, gift, or borrowed( provided you did not use that potential invested project as collateral.
The business must employ ten full-time U.S workers, produce a service or product, and benefit the United States economy. Full-time employment is defined as requiring at least 35 hours’ service per week. As an investor, you do not need any business training or experience. Nor does it matter which country you come from. However, the immigration authorities tend to be more suspicious about possible fraud with applicants from certain countries. Contact abogados de imigracion en houston tx for eligible criteria.
Cap On EB-5 Visas
Green cards for investors are limited to 10,000 per year 3,000 of them are reserved for applicants investing in rural areas or areas with a high unemployment rate. Once the caps are reached for individuals from various countries in any given year, you are then placed on a waiting list based on your Priority Date (the day you filed the first part of your application). Fortunately, only principal applicants are counted toward the 10,000 limits. Accompanying relatives are not. Therefore, in reality, more than 10,000 people per year get green cards based on their investment.
The problem several applicants experienced is the USCIS’s high rejection than accepted in this category. It is due to the eligibility requirement’s difficulty and because of the history of fraud and misuse. Some lawyers encourage their clients to use their wealth to fit themselves into another category with more chances of success. Speak with immigration lawyer in houston today.
Hire Experience Immigration Attorney
Due to the difficulty in the Eb5 category under which to get a green card, and certainly the most expensive, it’s well worth the investment to gain an immigration attorney’s advice before taking any significant steps toward utilizing the strategy.
Note: If you try the application once on your own and it fails, you might defect your chances of success in the future. Because you are expected to invest first then apply for the green card later. It could lead to a waste of funds.
