The Eb-5 Category
THE EB-5 CATEGORY .
BECOMING A LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENCY .
The Employment Based Fifth Preference (EB5) immigration category is a highly attractive category for those foreign investors who wish to invest in established businesses for the dual purposes of obtaining lawful permanent residency in the United States and securing their investment in successful commercial enterprises. The foreign investor who wishes to use this investment option has two basic choices. One choice is to find his or her own individual investment vehicle in which he or she will invest and play a role in management or policy making. The second option is a government-approved “Regional Center” investment.
It is important to note that the Regional Center investment is often the quickest and most secure option (assuming the investment is made in a Regional Center with a strong immigration track record). The immigration process is often quicker, and there are far fewer legal issues to be confronted. However, the investor is not running his or her own business, and the rate of return may be lower than in a successful individual investment.
The EB5 category requires the investment to be $1,800,000.00 (US). However, if the commercial enterprise is located in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA), then the investment can be lowered to $900,000.00 (US). Both options require the investor to prove that his or her investment has resulted in the creation of 10 new “fulltime” employees. The big difference is that individual investors must prove direct employment of the 10 employees. With Regional Centers, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has pre-approved the employment creation using a standard that allows a combination of direct employment and indirect employment creation using various accepted econometric models.
The services provided by Cuevas, Garcia & Torres, P.A. include the filing of the Immigrant Petition for Alien Entrepreneur (Form I-526), as well as the Application to Register Permanent Residence (Form I-485), which will initially result in the investor obtaining a conditional residency for two years. Thereafter, our firm will assist the client removing the condition on their residency through the filing of Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions.
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