If you want to live in the land of the free and get your green card to get into the US, and you have a bit of money to spare, then you’ve got an option. There are 10 thousand visas and green cards available for people who can make that type of investment underneath the EB-5 program, but it does come with some confusion.
What type of business should you invest in? What are the requirements to get your green card under the EB-5, and are there any other investment options to get the green card? It can be a bit of an issue and can be confusing, but once everything is cleared up you can invest like a pro!
Think Both Short and Long Term
The requirement to get your green card through this program is that you need to invest at least 1 million dollars into a new business or an existing business that you own and are involved in. The business also needs to expand to provide full time jobs for ten legal American citizens as well.
Plus, you need to be involved in the business in some way, either as a worker or a board member. Those three requirements don’t seem that hard, but you don’t want to just invest in the business for a green card.
A business that you are building or expanding yourself doesn’t need to just be a path to a green card, but it can also be a way for you to get a good living going, a permanent source of income, and also can act like something that you’ve built for yourself and your family once you get your citizenship inside of the United States.
Choosing a Reserved EB-5 Visa Category
In order to invest in a US Business correctly, try to understand and choose a reserved EB-5 category to give yourself the best chance of succeeding. The EB-5 is an immigrant visa category, and in order to have the best chance of growing your business, you need to seek out targeted employment areas.
A targeted employment area is an area, that at the time of investment, is either a rural area or a non rural area that has experienced unemployment that is 150% of the national average rate. Any area outside of a metropolitan statistical area or outside the boundary of a 20,000 person strong city or town is considered rural, and prime ground for people who want to invest.
In order to invest, you need to get a form I-526 that shows you’ve invested the required amount of money and your enterprise will create the required ten jobs. I-526 petitions for TEA come prioritized and only require a minimum investment of $900,000.
Invest In Growing Industries
In order to ensure that you are getting the most bang for your buck with your investment, make sure that you are investing inside of a growing industry.
Real estate and technology are two growing industries that will never go out of style, and people are always going to need them. If you can figure out what the next big thing in the world of technology and real estate is, then you will be able to have a business that will keep growing no matter what.
So, while getting your green card as quickly as possible might be your goal when applying for the EB-5, don’t be afraid to look long term and turn your investment into something that can provide for you and your family whenever you live in the US.
