Secure Your Future with the EB-5 Visa Program

An EB-5 visa is a US immigrant visa (meaning US permanent residency). Another name for a permanent residency visa is a “Green Card”. Green Cards are issued primarily through a lottery, Family-Based relationships, or an Employment-Based sponsorship. EB-5 stands for Employment-Based 5th Category Visa and is an immigration by investment program which leads to US job creation or “Employment”.

To qualify for an EB-5 visa, an investor must:

2. Invest at least $1,000,000 in a new or existing U.S. business

3. Create a minimum of 10 full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers

4. Maintain the investment for at least two years, following all program guidelines

EB-5 projects assume many different business models and operate within many different industries. Types of EB-5 projects include:

• Mixed-use retail

• Hotels

• Sports stadiums

• Restaurants

• Agricultural developments, including wineries and farms

• Electric vehicle manufacturing

• Manufacturing

• Biotech and medical technologies

• Casinos

• Entertainment venues

• Convention centers

• Office buildings

Each investor must invest $800,000 (if investing in a Targeted Employment Area “TEA”) or $1.05 million in a non-TEA project and create 10 US jobs. The initial EB-5 Green Card is conditional and temporary. At the end of a 2-year conditional residency period, the investor must show that the investment was maintained and at least 10 jobs were created for the Green Card to become permanent.

The EB-5 Program is an excellent solution for high-net-worth individuals looking to:

✅ Secure Green Cards for themselves, their spouse, and unmarried children under 21

✅ Build a pathway to U.S. citizenship after five years of permanent residency

✅ Diversify global assets and safeguard wealth

✅ Access world-class education for their children, including in-state tuition at U.S. universities

✅ Relocate from regions with political or economic uncertainty

An EB-5 petitioner is an individual investor. Investors’ spouses and unwed children under 21 can also obtain a Green Card through the same investment. Minors are allowed to apply.

Immigrant investor programs are programs designed to attract foreign capital and businesspeople by providing the right to residence and citizenship in return. The United States remains one of the most attractive countries to immigrate to and the EB-5 Regional Center program is highly favored amongst foreign nationals looking to move to the United States.

If you’re on a H-1B/F-1/L-1A or any other non-immigrant type visa, obtaining a Green Card via the EB-5 program is the best way to secure you and your family’s future in the United States. Even though you may have an EB-2/3 petition pending, the current wait times are long and can often result in you not being able to obtain a Green Card. Obtaining a Green Card also removes the threat of constant non-immigrant visa renewals every three years and greatly lowers the risk of having to leave the country if there is a change with your visa program, job, or personal life in any way. Using EB-5 to speed up the Green Card process is especially important for individuals on H-1B status who must continuously extend their status and contend with limited career flexibility.

Proper documentation of source of funds is critical, and funds required for the investment may include, but are not limited to:

• Accumulation of salary

• Earnings from business ownership

• Proceeds from sale/mortgage of real estate property

• Gift

• Inheritance

You can utilize loans and it is best practice loans be secured by an asset. Funds can be sourced from anywhere in the world if they legally belong to the investor.

The EB-5 Regional Center program was created in 1993 to allow multiple investors to pool their capital for enhanced economic impact within a defined geographic area. This also allowed EB-5 investors to make a passive investment with Regional Centers and issuers who had knowledge and expertise in EB-5.

The goal of a typical EB-5 investor is to obtain a Green Card and receive their investment principal back. Well-structured EB-5 offerings have a structured exit strategy in which the EB-5 investors are repaid in-full plus interest. The capital must remain invested or “at-risk” until the investor has completed their Conditional Residency, if they fail to do so their Green Card will not become permanent. Even though EB-5 investments need to be “at-risk” that does not mean that the investment needs to be inherently “risky”.