FAQ's

The US Congress created the EB-5 Program in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation by attracting investments from qualified foreign investors. In return, the EB-5 Program provides a direct path to US Permanent Residency and US Citizenship for qualified foreign investors, their spouses, and unmarried children under 21  upon approval of their I-526E Immigrant Investor Petition.

Over the years, the EB-5 Program has become very popular as it is a straightforward path to obtaining permanent U.S. Green Cards. Since 2000, more than 117,000 EB-5 investors from across the world have become U.S. residents through the EB-5 program.

Under the EB-5 Program, each investor is required to invest a minimum of $1,050,000 USD, or a reduced amount of $800,000 USD when investing in high-unemployment or rural targeted employmet areas (TEAs). Additionally, they must prove that their EB-5 investment has either created or preserved a minimum of 10 full-time American jobs.

The EB-5 Visa was originally conceived for individual entrepreneurs that would fund and manage their own businesses. Under the original program, investors would only be able to claim job creation for direct employees on their payroll.

In 1992, Congress boosted the economic impact of the EB-5 program by authorizing the creation of Regional Centers to pool EB-5 capital from multiple foreign investors to fund projects with substantial job-creation impact on regional economies. Regional Center investors benefit greatly as they can claim not only direct jobs, but also indirect and induced jobs from capital expenditures on construction activities and project revenues. In this way, Regional Centers reduce the challenges of the required employment creation and provide a safer path with regards to the immigration path.

As part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-103), President Biden enacted the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) on March 15, 2022 to improve the transparency and efficiency of the EB-5 Regional Center Program and extended it through September 30, 2027.

The EB-5 visa is a direct path to Permanent US Residency (Green Card). The Green Card allows the investor and their immediate family to live, study, work, and retire anywhere in the U.S. This program affords foreigners all the advantages of the American lifestyle while contributing to the U.S. economy through job creation. It is open to individuals from any country.

The EB-5 program stands as an ideal route for foreign nationals who have the required capital to secure permanent residency in the U.S. The U.S. is a safe harbor for your family as well as for your personal and business assets. Any member of your family with a Green Card can enter the United States at any time and stay as long as he or she wishes.

This visa is unique as it doesn’t require a U.S. employer sponsor or specific skills or knowledge. Furthermore, if you invest in a Regional Center project you are not required to work. It is your EB-5 capital, along with all the other sources of capital for the project, that will create the minimum 10 full-time and permanent jobs you will need.  

After investing in a qualifying project and receiving approval of the I-526E Immigrant Petitions by USCIS, an EB-5 investor, his or her spouse, and unmarried children under 21 will receive Conditional Permanent Residency (CPR) status. At this moment, you will enjoy the same rights and benefits as every other lawful permanent resident of the United States.

Two years later, the applicant will request the Conditional Status on their residency to be removed with the I-829 Petition. Once this form is approved, the applicant receives Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status. After five years have passed since the applicant received Conditional Residency status, he or she is eligible to request U.S. citizenship.

 The EB-5 visa offers several benefits to foreign investors:

•  It’s among the quickest ways to obtain U.S. permanent residency for the investor and their immediate family.
• There’s no need for a visa sponsor.
• Unrestricted employment opportunities in the U.S.
• EB-5 investors holding Green Cards have full access to the United States for personal, trade and business purposes.
• EB-5 investors may work, live, or own their businesses anywhere in the U.S., including states with no state income tax.
• The U.S. is a clear leader on internationally recognized colleges and universities  for both undergraduate education and graduate studies.
• The EB-5 Visa gives access to public schools and more affordable in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities, some of which are among the best in the USA.
• Students may work in the U.S. while they attend college.
• Higher acceptance rates at US public universities for Lawful Permanent Residents compared to international applicants.
• University students have access to student loans from the government and other sources.
• In case of political upheavals in the investor’s home country, the investors and their family can quickly move to the U.S.
• Eligibility for U.S. citizenship after a minimum of five years of permanent residency.
• Permanent residents travel to the U.S. without the need of a visa.

The investor, spouse, and all unmarried children under the age of 21 at the time of filing the I-526E Immigrant Investor Petition are eligible to receive Green Cards through the EB-5 program.

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) “freezes” a child’s age as of the I-526E petition filing date and during the entire time that the petition is being processed by USCIS.

Technically, yes, a person from any country in the world is eligible to apply for an EB-5 visa. However, some countries have less than reliable tax and financial documentation methods which will require persons from those countries to actively work with their immigration attorney to provide adequate source of funds authentication to the USCIS.

All of the relevant forms can be found on the USCIS website.

The two Green Cards offer the same rights and privileges. Under USCIS regulations, an investor who is approved for an EB-5 visa receives a conditional Green Card that is valid for two years. One year and nine months after the conditional Green Card is issued, a three-month window opens up during which an investor’s immigration attorney files another application with the USCIS to verify that all funds have been invested and that job creation requirements have been met. When the conditions are removed from the temporary/conditional Green Card, full resident status is granted and a permanent Green Card is issued to the investor. As said, both cards provide identical rights and privileges.

As a general guideline, it is advisable to spend at least half of each year in the U.S. to avoid the risk of being considered to have abandoned your permanent residency status. Your presence in the country doesn’t have to be continuous, as U.S. residents are allowed to travel. However, extended absences, particularly those lasting more than six months, can affect the continuous residency requirement necessary for naturalization.

Additionally, it is important to note that an EB-5 investor must enter the United States within 180 days of receiving their EB-5 visa. After entry, the investor must establish residency in the U.S. This can be demonstrated through various activities such as opening bank accounts, securing a driver’s license or social security number, paying state and federal income taxes, and either renting or purchasing a home.

From the moment you obtain your EB-5 Green Card, you gain many of the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens, with the exceptions of voting and holding certain public offices. You have the freedom to live anywhere in the U.S. permanently and access the U.S. Social Security system. As a Green Card holder, your children can benefit from educational opportunities in the U.S., including potentially qualifying for lower in-state tuition rates at public universities and enjoying favorable admissions processes. Additionally, being an EB-5 Green Card holder grants you the ability to work for any employer or start your own business without needing extra work permits or sponsorships. While you can travel internationally, it’s important to remember that absences longer than six months may raise concerns about your immigration intentions.

One of the most significant rights of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) is the opportunity to apply for U.S. Citizenship after living in the United States for five years, which includes the two years of your Conditional Permanent Residency (CPR). To be eligible for citizenship, you must maintain a physical presence in the U.S. for at least 30 months during the five years leading up to your naturalization application.

Although applying for U.S. citizenship isn’t required for LPRs, it comes with substantial benefits. One major advantage is the ability to facilitate family reunification, as U.S. citizens can petition for the immigration of extended family members, such as parents, siblings, and married adult children, a privilege not available to LPRs. Once you become a U.S. citizen, you can live abroad without the risk of losing your citizenship, and your children, regardless of where they are born, will also be recognized as U.S. citizens. Moreover, you gain the right to vote, hold public office, and work for the U.S. federal government.

An optimal way to reduce risk may be to invest in a project sponsored by a Regional Center whose business model is aligned with the repayment of your investment and who’s project has low sunk financing costs that can withstand a market downturn and . For more information about this we invite you to watch our video.

Under EB-5 regulations, an investor is required to invest capital in a New Commercial Enterprise (NCE) that operates a legitimate, profit-driven business. This NCE is typically structured as either a limited partnership (LP) or a limited liability company (LLC).

As a result, the EB-5 investor assumes the role of either a limited partner or a member, while the project’s sponsor serves as the general partner or managing member. Within the EB-5 Regional Center Program, the NCE utilizes the invested EB-5 funds to support the Job Creating Entity (JCE), which may involve either an equity investment or a loan.

The JCE, acting as the project developer, is responsible for both the project’s development and job creation, thereby meeting the requirements for the EB-5 investor to obtain a green card.

The Job Creating Entity (JCE) is the project entity that receives EB-5 capital from the New Commercial Enterprise (NCE) and is tasked with creating at least 10 jobs for each EB-5 investor. In the case of direct, standalone EB-5 investments, the NCE and JCE are often the same entity, allowing the EB-5 investor to take an active part in the business’s decision-making or daily operations. For these direct investments, only jobs directly created by the business can be counted. In contrast, in Regional Center investments, the NCE and JCE are usually separate entities. Regional Center projects can count not only direct jobs but also indirect and induced jobs generated by the JCE to meet the job creation requirements of EB-5 investors associated with the NCE. This approach enables more extensive and reliable job creation.

EB-5 Visa retrogression occurs when the number of applicants from a specific country exceeds the available visas allocated to that country in a given fiscal year. Consequently, the U.S. government halts the issuance of additional visas, resulting in a backlog or delays for applicants. This situation essentially means that prospective EB-5 Visa recipients must wait longer than usual to receive their visas, resembling a traffic jam in the immigration process. It is similar to the retrogressions experienced by Indian applicants in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories.

As of January 2024, EB-5 investors from China who invested prior to the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 are facing an 8-year retrogression, while those from India are experiencing a 3-year retrogression.

Retrogression is a situation to be avoided at all costs, as it presents significant challenges and uncertainties for EB-5 Visa applicants, impacting their immigration plans, financial stability, and overall well-being. Fortunately, applicants can mitigate the risks and effects of retrogression by analyzing which EB-5 categories have the most available visas.

Due to the 7% visa cap per country, China and India became oversubscribed before the Reform and Integrity Act (RIA). Without the RIA Reserved Visa categories, new EB-5 investors from these countries would also face several years of waiting for a visa. While the Visa Bulletin currently lists all EB-5 Reserved Categories as “Current” for India and China, it is essential to consult with your immigration counsel and regional center for the most recent statistics on petitions filed, which can help estimate which categories are likely to retrogress sooner.

The areas where the U.S. Congress wants to direct EB-5 investment are known as Targeted Employment Areas (TEA). Since job creation is needed in these locations, the TEA minimum investment amount is US $800,000, instead of the US $1,050,000 required for more affluent areas. Although the lower TEA investment benefit has been part of EB-5 since its inception in 1990, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) established three Reserved Visa Categories and assigned 32% of all EB-5 Visas to them.

The Reserved Visas are also known as “Set-Asides” as 20% of all EB-5 Visas are earmarked for Rural TEA Projects, 10% for High Unemployment TEA projects, and 2% for Infrastructure projects. Also, the RIA mandates that EB-5 Petitions for Rural Projects be given priority processing (goal of 4 months). This is not surprising, as the two US Senators that sponsored the law, Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (Democrat, Vermont) are from rural states.

This provision is allowing EB-5 Investors from oversubscribed countries, namely China and India to be given a Visa number and get Conditional Residence as long as their visa category does not become oversubscribed.

In addition to establishing the Reserved Visa Categories, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) also introduced the Unreserved Visa Category, which comprises 68% of the total annual EB-5 visa allocation. This category is open to all non-TEA EB-5 investors, who are required to make a minimum investment of $1.05 million USD. It also includes legacy EB-5 investors who made their investments prior to the enactment of the RIA. However, their I-526 Petitions may not be processed as quickly as those for rural projects that receive priority processing, which has an average target processing time of four months.

Moreover, if you were born in China and invest in an “unreserved visa” project, you may experience significant delays in obtaining your EB-5 visa. As of September 2023, there are nearly 20,000 EB-5 investors from China, excluding their spouses and children, who have had their I-526 Petitions approved and are currently waiting for visa availability, which is subject to a 7% cap per country. Additionally, there are approximately 2,400 EB-5 investors from India facing a similar situation.

On October 11, 2023, the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) provided their long-awaited guidance about the EB-5 investment timeframe in EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA) to satisfy the “at risk” requisite of the EB-5 visa. For pre-RIA investors, the sustainment period is the two years of their Conditional Residence. For post-RIA investors is “two years from investing” However, the start of this two-year clock is ambiguous, needs further clarification, and expectations to receive EB-5 capital back in two years is unrealistic as this depends on the terms of the Partnership Documents and when the Project gets liquidity. Also, their interpretation is non-binding, is not yet in the USCIS Policy Manual and is likely to be challenged in courts.