Questions Commonly Asked Concerning The EB-5 Visa

1. The EB-5 Program advantages

One of the advantages of the EB-5 program is that it offers a way to receive a green card for investors and their family members. The investment of at least $900,000 must go into creating a commercial enterprise which in turn creates jobs for American workers.

2. EB-5 Regional Centers

Regional Centers work to make sure jobs are created in a certain geographic area. They are in charge of the EB-5 foreign investments for its particular area. Regional Centers work on projects that help the local economy grow. Nearly 3,000 EB-5 visas are dedicated to Regional Center investments.

Key Benefits Include:

• Higher acceptance rates at top U.S. universities (over 20% to 40X improvement & not subject to international student quotas)
• Reduced college tuition costs by up to 50% via access to in-state tuition and merit-based scholarship opportunities
• Eliminate the need for employer sponsorship upon graduation and thus completely avoid the need for an H-1B visa
• Unrestricted access to the best U.S. companies and professional firms and/or the ability to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities
• Enable foreign professionals under H-1B or L1 visas to regain control over their careers and dramatically level the playing field
• Earn significantly higher salaries/total compensation after graduation (vs. earnings in home country)
• The protection, preservation and timely return of capital (typically within 5 to 6 years)
• Direct path to U.S. citizenship (within 5 years of the conditional green card)

3. EB-5 Program Availability

It is not foreseen that the EB-5 program will change anytime in the near future. However, the EB-5 Regional Center Program does update from time to time.

4. EB-5 program cost

The current minimum investment is $900,000 for TEA programs and $1.8 million for non-TEA programs.

5. Length of time to obtain green cards via EB-5 programs

The time may be contingent upon the investor’s country of origin. For example, a number of countries such as China, India, and Vietnam, have been experiencing a backlog. This problem adds to the time to receive conditional permanent residency