Tuesday 15 May 2012

Obtaining Permanent Residency With An EB-5 Visa

By Jonathan Westmoreland


In 1990, the U. S. Congress created the EB-5 Visa category, also known as an investor status. This permanent resident status is available to investors and their families. It requires either a one million dollar investment in a new commercial enterprise or a $500,000 investment in what is called a target employment area, or an area that is experiencing extremely high unemployment.

In addition, the new enterprise must benefit the U. S. Economy. It can do this by creating at least ten full-time jobs. A real estate investment will typically create many new jobs since the property will require lengthy development.

If the investment is made in a struggling business, then the business must maintain the same number of employees it had prior to the investment for at least two years. A business is determined to be struggling if it has been in business for two years or more but its net worth has declined by twenty percent over the prior two years.

Immigrants seeking investor status must file an Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, a form I-526. Documents in support of the filing are required, which can include information regarding the business, the amount of funds invested and where the funds originated, the immigrant's position in the enterprise, and the amount of jobs either created or preserved.

After the Form I-526 has been filed and approved, the immigrant has two options for pursuing a green card. They can file an I-485, Application to Register Permanent Resident Status, which requires its own collection of supporting documents. They can also file a Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions. This form must be filed no later than 90 days before the immigrant's two year anniversary of the initial entry into the U. S.

There are many routes to U. S. Permanent residency available to immigrants today. For those who are thinking of becoming business owners or investing in real estate, the EB-5 visa is the perfect choice.




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