Washington Post: EB 5 Investor Visa Article: January 2010
The EB 5 investor visa has been implemented for some time. The Washington Post, in an article from 2010, has details regarding immigrants investing in United States business' in exchange for a visa. The article discusses that the number of foreigner's who are willing to invest in the United States. The USCIS is the government agency which approves or denies the I-526 petition which is for entrepeneurs.
According to the article, in 2008, 1,443 EB 5 investor visas were granted. In 2009, the number increased to 4,218. Most of the entrepeneurs in the approved petitions were from Asia and, in particular, China and South Korea. The EB 5 investor visa is open to petitioners who are not necessarily from treaty-trader countries such as with an E-1 or E-2.
The article also discussed the requirement of immigrant's demonstrating that their investment created at least 10 jobs for the I-829 to be approved. Regional centers, as the article discusses, are the preferred favorite investments since these are approved by the United States Government. One of the reasons is that "indirect" jobs will be considered for approval and not just "direct" jobs. The investment is always at risk but the investor should use the best method to insure that the permanent residency is obtained and the regional centers offer this with the indirect job method.
The program was established in 1990 which is over 20 years ago. The lowering of the investment from $1,000,000 to $500,000 with an approved regional center has allowed more entrepeneurs to apply. Also, given currency fluctuations since the investment is in dollars, countries which have currency which has become stronger against the dollar offer additional citizens of that country this opportunity.
If you have questions on the EB 5 visa program, please contact our office to discuss.
