Three Things to Know About EB-5 Regional Centers
The United States Congress created the EB-5 visa program in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through foreign investments and create jobs for American workers. The goal of this legislation is to spur economic growth by creating employment opportunities for qualifying immigrants and their families, who are willing to commit a significant amount of capital toward commercial enterprises in rural areas or regions with high unemployment rates.
Three things you should know about EB-5 Regional Centers:
1) They offer an investment opportunity that can be used as a stepping stone towards permanent residency.
It is a proven investment that can lead to permanent residency. This visa program provides an opportunity for family-based immigration, and it also creates jobs in the United States. It’s easy to get started if you’re looking into this form of capital investment, but before submitting your application, make sure you qualify by reading “What does it take to qualify for EB-5 Regional Center?”
The Regional Centers themselves are not required to produce any jobs in the United States. They only need to show that they have invested capital into a commercial enterprise, which must be located within an area where there is a high unemployment or poverty rate. The program was created for investors who want to take advantage of investing their money into US-based businesses that are located in high-unemployment or poverty areas.
The program requires that the business be a for-profit venture and have at least ten full-time employees to qualify, which is why most of these businesses tend to invest their money into hotels or restaurants. The investment can be anywhere from $500,000-$750,000, depending on the type of EB-5 regional center.
The investor must put $500,000-$750,000 into the business to gain a green card and residency eligibility in the United States. The program is set up so that it’s easier for investors with higher capital amounts to qualify because they have more money invested in their future US investment.
2) They fund projects that provide long-term job creation.
The EB5 regional center program has a set time limit of five years. This means that the investment is expected to create at least ten full-time jobs within this timeframe, or else the investor will not be eligible for citizenship in the US. The application process can take around six months, and once approved, applicants are given an interview with Homeland Security and are provided a green card.
3) Investors can receive green cards if they invest $1 million or more into qualified projects under this visa program.
People who might want to know about the EB-5 regional center program are investors with more capital and higher investment amounts. The EB-5 regional center program receives funding from U.S. companies, which provide long-term job creation in return for their investments; these projects also have a set time limit of five years (ten full-time jobs per year).
The EB-5 regional center program is not just limited to commercial projects but can be applied to residential and mixed-use developments as well. EB-5 Regional centers are extremely popular with investors because they have a much lower investment amount requirement than other eligible immigration programs (the minimum for the EB-5 regional centers is $500,000).
EB-5 Regional center investors have to make sure their investment is in a regional center that has been approved by the USCIS. There are currently more than 20 EB-5 regional centers nationwide, and they provide excellent benefits for both investors looking to obtain citizenship as well as U.S. companies seeking long-term job creation opportunities.
