In an effort to stimulate the United States economy during the trying economic times of the early 1990s, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program was born. In exchange for both an investment in commercial enterprises in the U.S., along with proposals for promoting or supporting economic growth, qualified investors would become eligible to apply for permanent residence in the country. An EB-5 visa lawyer can help qualified investors and their families obtain permanent residence today.
Under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, any entrepreneur (along with their spouses and any unmarried children they may have, provided those children are under the age of 21) can apply for permanent residence by way of a Green Card if they meet the following criteria:
In order to qualify, that initial investment must either total $1,000,000 or $500,000 USD in a high-unemployment or rural area, otherwise known as a targeted employment area. Additionally, those ten permanent full-time jobs cannot be given to the spouse or children of the investor.
One of the most important things to understand about the EB-5 Program is that immigrant investor visas are always issued in chronological order, based on the date that an original petition was filed, typically until the annual numerical limit for the investment category is reached.
At this time, only Chinese nationals are oversubscribed in their category and must wait for their priority date to become current. Each month the Department of State issues a Visa Bulletin which lists the priority date. You can check your priority date here.
There are also Regional Centers in which investors can invest but would not need to be involved in their regular day-to-day operations. You have to invest the same amount and the investment funds must be at risk. There can be no guarantee that you will receive a good return on your invested funds or even the refund of your invested proceeds. Contact an EB-5 visa lawyer for more information.
All applicants must complete the following steps in order to properly apply for an EB-5 Visa:
At Pobjecky & Pobjecky, an Eb-5 visa lawyer can help you successfully navigate the application process.
Applying for an EB-5 Visa will require you to present a number of important documents at various stages of the process. In addition to the aforementioned Form DS-260, you will also need:
The interview process for EB-5 applications is another step towards guaranteeing that investors are eligible for permanent residency in the United States. During the interview, the applicant’s immigrant visa will be reviewed and the applicant will be asked to go into greater detail about the source of their funds, the purpose of their investment, their long-term business plans, goals and more.
Applicants will also have to answer questions about previous entries into the U.S., any potential visa overstays and more during this 30 to 45 minute interview. All supporting documentation will be reviewed thoroughly before a final determination is made.
It is always recommended that applicants enlist the help of an immigration lawyer during this process, both to help make sure that all required documents are submitted properly and that they contain accurate information (as submitting fraudulent documents is a major contributing factor to visa ineligibility), and that they are as prepared as possible for their visa interview.
If you would like to find out additional information about the EB-5 Visa Investor Program contact Pobjecky & Pobjecky, LLP. Renee Pobjecky is an experienced and verified EB-5 visa lawyer. We can help you start the visa process today.
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