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Quickly and easily find the answers to 10 of the most commonly asked EB-5 visa questions below:
1. How does the EB-5 Program work?
The EB-5 Program gives qualified foreign investors and their family (spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 years) green cards in exchange for investing a minimum of $500,000 in job creating new commercial enterprises in the U.S.
The EB-5 Program was created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy by encouraging wealth foreign nationals to make capital investments that would result in job creation for American workers. In 1992, Congress added the Regional Center Pilot Program, also called simply the Regional Center Program.
2. What is an EB-5 regional center?
The Regional Center Program works nearly the same as the EB-5 Direct Investment Program, except investments are affiliated with an economic unit called a Regional Center.
Regional Center’s are associated with a particular geographic area and coordinate EB-5 foreign investment within that area. Regional Centers ensure that the capital investments are EB-5 compliant and that the projects promote local economic growth. Each year, 3,000 of the 10,000 EB-5 visas are set aside for Regional Center investments.
The popularity of the Regional Center Program continues to grow due to two factors. One, unlike Direct Investments, Regional Centers can utilize indirect and induced job creation making fulfilling the EB-5 job creation requirements easier. Two, Regional Centers take advantage of targeted employment areas (TEA) which allow EB-5 investors to qualify for the reduced minimum investment amount of $500,000. TEA are rural or high unemployment areas. The minimum investment amount for non-TEA is $1 million.
3. Is the EB-5 Program still available?
The EB-5 Direct Investment Program is permanent. The EB-5 Regional Center Program requires renewal. Interested foreign nationals can still apply for the EB-5 Regional Center Program until the sunset (expiration) date on November 21, 2019. If a bill to extend the EB-5 Regional Center Program is announced, then the program will be further extended.
4. How much does an EB-5 visa cost?
Currently, the minimum investment amount for TEA projects is $500,000 and the minimum investment amount for non-TEA projects is $1 million. These amounts will nearly double on November 21, 2019, when the EB-5 Modernization Regulation goes into effect. The new EB-5 rule will increase the minimum investment amount for TEA projects to $900,000 and non-TEA projects to $1.8 million.
To lock in the lower minimum investment amounts, interested investors can apply prior to November 21, 2019, and be grandfathered into the program under the current rules.
5. How long does it take to get a green card through EB-5?
How long it takes to get a green card through EB-5 depends on the investor’s country of origin. Three countries, Mainland China, India, and Vietnam, currently face a visa backlog which will add additional time to getting conditional permanent residency. Investors from these countries must wait until their priority dates are earlier than the listed dates in the current visa bulletin. The priority date or receipt date is the date given to an investor when they filed their I-526 Petition.
Upcoming November Visa Bulletin’s Final Action Dates for Regional Center and non-Regional Center:
Mainland China: November 1, 2014
India: December 8, 2017
Vietnam: November 15, 2016
All other countries are current. Once an investor’s priority date is current, they may apply for a visa and receive one when one becomes available.
Processing times at the Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO) state that the I-526 Petition time range is 28.5 months to 49.5 months.
6. Who can apply for an EB-5 visa?
EB-5 investors likely must qualify as accredited investors. This means that a foreign national must either:
Have an annual income of at least $200,000 (or $300,000 joint income with spouse) for the previous two years as well as an expectation of the same income or higher income for the current year.
Or, have a networth exceeding $1 million (excluding the value of their primary residence).
There are no language, skills, education, managerial, or business requirements that the foreign national must possess.
7. How many EB-5 visas are issued each year?
Each year, there is an annual EB-5 visa cap of 10,000. However, EB-5 investors’ dependents are counted toward this visa cap and therefore only about 1/3 of these visas are available to principal investors.
8. Can an EB-5 investment be a loan?
An EB-5 investment capital may come from a loan, a gift, income, sale of assets, inheritance, investments, or other sources. The EB-5 investor must be able to trace the capital to show that it came from lawful sources.
9. Do EB-5 investors get their money back?
Some investors receive their money back after five years. Sometimes it takes longer. An EB-5 investor is placing their capital at-risk when they make their investment. However, carefully understanding the terms of their investment will help minimize risk and determine when and how they are to receive repayment.
If an investor is from a country currently facing an EB-5 backlog, their investment capital may be redeployed into a new investment. Consult with an immigration attorney to learn more about your case.
10. Can you apply for EB-5 while on another visa?
Yes. Individuals can transition to EB-5 if they meet the program requirements. Depending on what visa you hold, you may find that conflicts arise. Consult with an experienced immigration attorney to learn more about your case.
Questions? Fill out our free EB-5 evaluation below or talk to CMB.
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