Investor Green Cards
EB-5: Green Cards Via Investment
10,000 immigrant visas per year are available to qualified individuals seeking permanent resident status on the basis of their engagement in a new commercial enterprise. Of the 10,000 investor visas (i.e., EB-5 visas) available annually, 5,000 are set aside for those who apply under a pilot program involving an CIS-designated “Regional Center” which is defined as:
• An entity, organization or agency that has been approved as such by the Service;
• Focuses on a specific geographic area within the United States; and,
• Seeks to promote economic growth through increased export sales, improved regional productivity, creation of new jobs, and increased domestic capital investment.
“Alien investors” must:
• Demonstrate that a “qualified investment” (see Eligibility) is being made in a new commercial enterprise located within an approved Regional Center; and,
• Show, using reasonable methodologies, that 10 or more jobs are actually created either directly or indirectly by the new commercial enterprise through revenues generated from increased exports, improved regional productivity, job creation, or increased domestic capital investment resulting from the pilot program.
Eligibility
Permanent resident status based on EB-5 eligibility is available to investors, either alone or coming with their spouse and unmarried children. Eligible aliens are those who have invested — or are actively in the process of investing — the required amount of capital into a new commercial enterprise that they have established.
They must further demonstrate that this investment will benefit the United States economy and create the requisite number of full-time jobs for qualified persons within the United States. In general, “eligible individuals” include those:
Who establish a new commercial enterprise by:
Who have invested — or who are actively in the process of investing — in a new commercial enterprise:
Whose engagement in a new commercial enterprise will benefit the United States economy and:
Consultation
If you are serious about getting legal assistance a consultation is the best place to start. Spend up to a full hour with an immigration attorney to discuss the details of your case, get answers to your questions, work through complex issues and supporting documents and plan an immigration strategy for obtaining benefits.