A BASIC OVERVIEW OF AN EB-5 INVESTOR VISA
This article provides basic information related to an EB-5 Investor visa and its benefits. For those investors with $500,000.00 US to $1,000,000.00 US, they may be able to obtain Permanent Residency in the US in less than three years. There are two monetary investment options for the investor. For those individuals willing to invest in an area defined by the USCIS as a “targeted employment area”, the required investment is $500,000.00 US. A “targeted employment area” is an area that, at the time of investment, is a rural area or an area experiencing unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average rate. This can also include a rural area outside a metropolitan statistical area (as designated by the Office of Management and Budget) or outside the boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more according to the decennial census. Individuals can also seek a “TEA” designation if not already defined by the USCIS. For all others investing outside a “TEA” defined zone, the required investment will be a minimum of $1,000,000.00 US. In addition to the monetary investment, there must also be the creation of a minimum of ten full time employees for the business. They can be either US citizens or US permanent residents, but not family members. The USCIS will verify these ten employees are being maintained by the company before final approval of the complete green card.