EB-5 Visa Immigrant Investment Requirements
To meet EB-5 investor visa requirements, foreign investors must make an “at risk” capital investment in a for-profit U.S. business entity. The required investment amount is either $900,000 or $1.8 million, depending on which project you invest in. If you invest in a targeted employment area (TEA) the investment is $900,000, and if you invest elsewhere the minimum required investment is $1.8 million. EB-5 investments must lead to the creation of 10 fulltime U.S. jobs for at least two years.
Job Creation Requirements
According to USCIS, the EB-5 investment must preserve or create a minimum of 10 full-time positions for workers in the United States who qualify. This creation, or preservation, of jobs must occur within two years of the investor’s conditional permanent residency and entrance into the United States. Jobs created in EB-5 projects are defined as direct, indirect or induced. In the direct investment context, the EB-5 visa applicant must prove that the EB-5 capital resulted in the actualization of direct jobs of employees working directly in the business in which the investment was made. In the regional center context, the applicant can count direct, indirect, and induced jobs toward the job creation requirement.
Application Process
EB-5 visa applicants must follow three general steps to obtain U.S. permanent residency:
1. Invest in an individual business that will create 10 direct fulltime U.S. jobs per investor (direct investment) OR
Invest through a USCIS-designated regional center where the investor may create 10 direct, indirect and/ or induced jobs per investor.
2. Upon I-526 approval, the investor submits their conditional permanent resident application either through the filing of an I-485, Application for Adjustment of Status, or DS-260, Application for Immigrant Visa. This is the petition that will confer the green card to the investor and his eligible dependents.
3. Lastly, the investors must prove that all EB-5 requirements have been met at the end of the two-year conditional residency by filing the I-829 application to remove conditions of residency. The investor, their spouse, and their unmarried children under the age of 21 then become lawful permanent residents and receive their ten-year green cards.