THE EB-5 INVESTORS VISA: A PATH TO PERMANENT RESIDENCY FOR THE UNITED STATES The EB-5 Investor Visa Program The EB-5 Investor Visa Program provides immigrant investors a path to permanently live and work in the United States. The program was created in 1990 by the United States Congress as a way to stimulate the U.S. economy through foreign investments. The EB-5 visa category allows qualified foreign nationals to obtain a permanent residency visa (green card) in the U.S. by investing into a new commercial enterprise that creates at least 10 full-time American jobs. Why people immigrate to the United States There are many reasons why people from around the world desire to immigrate to the United States. It may be that they are looking for access to the U.S. business markets, a more stable economy, a better education for their children, religious and political freedoms, to reunite with family, or to retire in a different climate. One of the main benefits for immigrants is the U.S. educational system for themselves or their children. Once an immigrant becomes a permanent resident, their children will be able to attend State
Universities at in-state tuition levels, which could provide savings of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on how many children they have and their educational aspirations. The current environment of the EB-5 program Since 2015, many U.S. lawmakers and industry stakeholders have been pushing for reform in the EB-5 program, but have been unsuccessful in making changes through legislation. However, in July 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), the federal agency that oversees the EB-5 program, announced that new regulations for the EB-5 program would go into effect on November 21, 2019. The new regulations represent the first step of meaningful reform for the EB-5 industry. The main change that will affect those considering immigrating to the United States through the EB-5 program is the significant increase in the investment amounts. The current minimum investment level to apply for an EB-5 visa is $500,000. However, with the recently announced regulatory changes, the minimum amount will increase to $900,000 from November 21, 2019.
CMB Regional Centers CMB is one of the oldest active regional center operators in the EB-5 industry with over 20 years of experience. CMB’s founder, Patrick Hogan, has been involved with the EB-5 program since 1994 and in 1997, CMB Export (CMB’s first regional center) was approved to operate in the state of California. Today, CMB is an operator of 16 approved EB-5 regional centers, with the ability to take on projects in 22 states and Washington D.C. CMB is an EB-5 industry leader in many ways, and has always kept the same philosophy of putting the investor’s goals ahead of their own. Today, CMB has over 5,400 investors from 100 countries that have chosen to invest in one of CMB’s 70 EB-5 investment opportunities. Of the 5,400 investors that have trusted CMB with their EB-5 pursuit, CMB has helped over 4,800 investors achieve an I-526 approval, which allows them to apply for a “conditional” permanent green card for themselves and their qualified family members. CMB has also helped over 1,100 families achieve success of permanent residency in the United States without conditions (green card), and has returned capital to over 1,000 investors. There are very few regional centers that can come close to this level of success for their EB-5 investors.
89 Citizenship By Investment