EB5 Investor Visas

EB-5 the Large Investor Visa that Leads to United States Permanent Residence

Under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(5), ten- thousand immigrant visas per year are available to individuals seeking permanent resident status on the basis of their investment in a new commercial enterprise.

Of the ten-thousand investor visas, EB-5 visas, available annually, five thousand visas are designated for individuals whose applications are filed under a pilot program involving a USCIS-designated Regional Center.

A Regional Center is an entity, organization or agency that has been approved as one by USCIS; focuses on a certain geographic area within the United States; and seeks to promote economic growth through increased export sales, improved regional productivity, the creation of new jobs, and increased domestic capital investment.

The prospective alien investor in the EB-5 category must prove that a qualified investment is being made in a new commercial enterprise located within an approved Regional Center. The prospective alien investor must also show that ten or more jobs are created either directly or indirectly by the new commercial enterprise through revenues generated from increased exports, improved regional productivity, job creation, or increased domestic capital investment resulting from the pilot program in the USCIS-designated Regional Center.

Who Qualifies for EB-5 Status

Permanent resident status based on EB-5 eligibility is available to investors, either alone or along with their spouse and unmarried children under twenty-one years of age. Eligible aliens are those who have invested, or are actively in the process of investing, the required amount of capital into a new commercial enterprise that they have established. They must demonstrate that this investment will benefit the United States economy and create the requisite number of full-time jobs for United States workers.

Persons who are eligible for EB-5 status include those: Who establish a new commercial enterprise by doing one of the following: 1. creating a new business; 2. purchasing an existing business and simultaneously or subsequently restructuring or reorganizing the business so a new commercial enterprise results; or 3. expanding an existing business by 140 percent of the pre-investment number of jobs or net worth, or retaining all existing jobs in a troubled business that has lost 20 percent of its net worth over the past 12 to 24 months; and have fulfilled the following two requirements:

1. Investment or actively in the process of investing, in a new commercial enterprise: at least $1,000,000, or at least $500,000 where the investment is being made in a targeted employment area, which is an area that has experienced unemployment of at least 150 per cent of the national average rate or a rural area as designated by OMB; and
2. Engagement in a new commercial enterprise which will benefit the United States economy and: create full-time employment for at least 10 qualified individuals; or maintain the number of existing employees at no less than the pre-investment level for a period of at least two years, where the capital investment is being made in a troubled business, which is a business that has been in existence for at least two years and that has lost 20 percent of its net worth over the past 12 to 24 months.

Once an investor's application in this category is approved, the investor becomes a conditional permanent resident of the United States for two years. Within the 90-day period prior to the expiration of the investor's conditional permanent residence, the investor must file a petition to remove the conditions on his residence. Once the conditions are removed, a ten-year renewable permanent residence card is issued to the investor.

Contact an Immigration Lawyer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
To speak to an immigration attorney about your immigration goals, including obtaining a work visa in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, New York or anywhere in the United States, we welcome you to contact us online or call 412-291-4400. Free consultations are available. We represent clients throughout the United States, including Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, Allegheny County, and worldwide in Korea, Africa, India, and Pakistan.