What is an EB5 Visa and what is it needed for? 

An EB5 visa provides a way for you to attain a green card through investment. Under the EB5 program, you, your spouse, and your dependents 21 years of age or younger can be covered by one US investor petition. The US sets aside 10,000 visas for US investor immigration each year. The maximum number of visas to be given to investors for immigration has not yet been met in a single year, so the opportunity is ready and waiting.

What are the requirements to obtain an EB5 Visa?

To qualify for an EB5 visa, there are a few requirements to be met. First, an investment is required. The investor will need to invest a minimum of $1,000,000 to establish a new commercial enterprise, unless the area the in which the investor is willing to invest has a particularly high unemployment rate (150% of the U.S. national average unemployment). Then, the investor need only invest $500,000.

Additionally, through your investment, you will need to create a minimum of ten jobs for U.S. citizens. This job requirement excludes you, your spouse, or any of your dependents.

Finally, you will also need to show that you are actively involved in the commercial management of the day to day business of the new commercial enterprise on an executive or board policy level.

Job Creation

A capital investment shouldn’t just support the business; it should also lead to the creation of new jobs. In order to qualify for an EB-5 Visa, an applicant must show that the investment will lead to the creation of at least 10 new jobs for U.S. workers. Family members of the investor who are employed by the business do not count towards the 10 required jobs.

Business Qualification

To qualify for an EB-5 visa, potential applicants must invest in a “new” business. To satisfy this requirement, the business does not have to be brand new. It just has to have been created after November 29, 1990. Older businesses can be considered “new” again if they are completely restructured or if the investor’s contribution leads to a 40 percent increase in net worth or total employees for the business (but beware, getting USCIS to recognize a business that existed before November 1990 is a very complicated and challenging endeavor, and entails significant risks).

EB-5 investors can either invest directly in a new commercial enterprise or they can invest indirectly through a federally-authorized entity known as a “Regional Center.” An EB-5 Regional Center oversees investment projects that lead to job creation and help promote economic growth. When investing through a Regional Center, applicants can include “indirect” job creation (i.e. jobs created by unrelated entities, in response to demand generated by the investment) to satisfy the 10 job requirement. (In contrast, when investing directly in a business, applicants must show that the business itself directly employs at least 10 new U.S. workers as a result of the new investment). Investing through a Regional Center may also be a good option for those who aren’t really interested in getting involved with the details of managing a business enterprise but who just want to use their capital to help them attain status as a legal permanent resident.

What does “establish a new commercial enterprise” mean?

To qualify as a new commercial enterprise for EB5 visa purposes, the business must be one of the following:

• A business that was first created after November 1990.
• An older business that you purchased and restructured or reorganized in a way that a new commercial enterprise results, or
• An older business that you purchased and were able to grow through your investment so that the net worth of the business, or number of employees, grows by at least 40%.

Source from the web.  http://gundersondenton.com/immigration/eb5-visa-for-investors/

Debra Allen,

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