Many people are looking for ways to invest and ensure a better future for their families. The United States offers great infrastructure, top education for children, progressive medicine, and other opportunities for a high-quality life. This attracts investors and businessmen from all around the world. In this article, I’m going to discuss how to become a lawful resident by investing substantial capital in financing a business in the US through an investment visa EB-5.
Investment EB-5 visa is a governmental program for Immigrant Investors to become lawful residents by investing substantial capital in financing your business project or project from a regional center in the U.S. It was created in 1990 to allow foreign investors to become legal permanent residents of the U.S. According to the official statistics, 2,949 EB-5 visas were issued in 2021.
The EB-5 visa let you immigrate in two ways: passive or active investment. Passive investment involves $800 000+ investment in Regional Centers, which were accredited by the US government. Or you have another option — active investment in your business, which starts from $1 050 000. The main difference: in the passive investment, you can return your money with %.
Also, if you choose the passive investment, then you give your money to some project which is licensed by the United States Government and they will take care of everything for you.
The EB-5 visa has many advantages, so you can see for yourself why this type of visa is so beneficial. Moreover, you can find a list of the EB-5 visa requirements down below, as well as a step-by-step guide explaining how to apply for it.
EB-5 Program benefits
- There are no requirements for education and knowledge of the English language.
- A fast and reliable way to get citizenship.
- You can apply for U.S. citizenship after 5 years
- The money you’ve invested will return within 5–7 years in the case of passive investment
- It gives you access to the U.S. healthcare system
- With the EB-5 visa comes a Green Card for you and your family
One of the main EB-5 benefits is that you can immigrate to the U.S. with your immediate family, including your children under 21 that are not married yet.
Things you should know about the immigration process:
- Within 12 months you will receive your U.S. visa
- Within 5–7 years, investments will return in full.
Crucial steps in obtaining the EB-5 investment visa:
- Preliminary assessment of the case by a lawyer
- Choosing an investment project
- Filing an immigration petition (I-526) in the U.S.
- Immigration Approval of the petition
- Interview at a US consular office with an investor
- Getting a Green Card
On my YouTube channel, Shamayev Business and Talent Visas, I have a lot of videos with detailed information about this program. As with any other type of visa, new regulations and updates are introduced every year on EB-5 visas. Now let’s look closer to the latest criteria and see how you can immigrate as an investor.
EB-5 Visa Documents
- All documents confirming the legality of the origin of your investment funds;
- Petition I-526
In my company, Shamayev Business Law, we specialize in several business and investment visas: ЕВ-5, small investment visa E-2, and business visa L-1. In this article, I will focus on the criteria of the EB-5 visa that allows you to immigrate to the United States through 2 types of investments.
Investment amount
I bet this question has already slipped through your mind: “What is the investment amount for the EB-5 visa program?”. The program has a minimum and maximum entry threshold. To obtain a Green Card through the EB-5 program, you need $800,000 of investment. This is the minimum investment amount if you are investing in a secure project in the target TEA region. The other option is investing $1 million 50 thousand in your own business. If you are investing in your own business, you need to create 10 full-time jobs. But it is also important to have a legal source of funds.
3 main requirements for the EB-5 visa:
- Investment budget: $800 thousand — $1 million 50 thousand
- Legality of funds
- A project that can provide 10 jobs for active investment
Watch more detailed information about the Regional Centers in this video.
Preparation process at Shamayev Business Law:
- Filling out a questionnaire with case data Immigration Planning
- Signing an agreement on conducting a case and submitting a case to the immigration service
- Choosing an investment project
- Collecting the documents to prove the legality of funds
- Getting the documents checked by a paralegal and case manager
- Getting approval from a lawyer
- Filing an I-526 Petition
You are an investor thinking of moving to the United States? Fill in our EB-5 questionnaire and we’ll evaluate your chances to receive an investment visa for FREE. Within 48 hours you’ll receive my recommendations on what visa program you should apply for.
