Four Things You Need To Know About EB-5 Investment

There are a few routes you can take to immigrate to the United States. You can marry a US citizen, have a company sponsor your green card, or invest in the USA. The EB-5 program is for those who can invest $1.8million into a business in a non-targeted employment area, or $900,000 into a targeted employment area. If you have the means, this can be one of the best ways to immigrate to the USA.

The trick to EB-5 is to find a profitable investment that will satisfy US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requirements. Here are the things you need to know before you try to obtain an EB-5. 

1. There are two types of investments USCIS permits. If you’re looking for an EB-5-based green card, you need to understand that there are two types of investments that USCIS allows: direct and indirect. With the direct option, you are in control of the business as an investor and manager. As long as your new company employs at least ten people and meets the capital requirements, it will be approved. With the indirect route, you use the resources pooled together by EB-5 for a larger project. If you agree to put in enough money, the plan already satisfies the requirements of USCIS. You will take a passive investor role. 
2. Each option has a different risk vs reward calibration. Think of these two options as mutual funds versus stocks. With an individual stock or the direct route, you could lose it all or make your fortune. With mutual funds, your money goes into many different stocks as part of a managed portfolio. This is a lower risk, but usually less reward. EB-5 center investments are not intended for making the most money possible. They’re designed to meet requirements for immigration, so these projects may have lower returns than other investment opportunities. 
3. Investment amounts will become higher. Changes to the EB-5 program were implemented by USCIS in 2019, which means that investment amounts will change every five years in order to keep track of inflation. If you’re thinking about an EB-5 investment, you probably want to do it soon, before the limits change and you have to put in more money. 
4. Look for EB-5 Center projects with at least one I-526 approval. The first step in the EB-5 process is filing Form I-526, ‘Immigration Petition by Alien Entrepreneur’. In this form, you will need to document your project and your source of capital, including the number of people that you will employ, how your business will operate, and more. With EB-5 centers, these questions about the project will remain the same across all applications. This means that when USCIS approves one I-526 request, they will usually refer to that approval for later applications.

EB-5 investors have lots of options. If you want the least amount of risk, a reasonable return on investment, and a higher chance of getting a green card, you should consider investing in an EB-5 center project.