Skip to main content

What Are the Eligibility Requirements for the EB-5 Visa? Atlanta Immigration Attorney Explains

U.S. Congress created the EB-5 visa program in 1990 to stimulate the economy by encouraging capital investments from foreign investors. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in order to qualify for an EB-5 visa, the immigrant must invest in a new commercial enterprise. The enterprise must have been established after Nov. 29, 1990; alternatively, the investment could be in a commercial enterprise that was established on or before Nov. 29, 1990 if:

·         The existing or purchased business is reorganized or reconstructed in a manner that creates a new commercial enterprise; or
·         The investment expands an existing or purchased business to create at least a 40-percent increase in the number of employees or net worth.

If you are interested in obtaining an EB-5 visa, contact Kuck Immigration Partners. There are strict regulations that determine a person’s eligibility for an EB-5 visa. You will have to provide extensive documentation and prove that your net worth or income is sufficient to support your planned investment. Also, you will have to prove that your capital investment was acquired legally.

Call 404-816-8611 to schedule a consultation with an employment visa lawyer in Atlanta. Until then, read on to learn more about the eligibility requirements for the EB-5 visa:

What Qualifies as a “Commercial Enterprise?”

A commercial enterprise is a for-profit activity created for a lawful business. Examples include:

·         Sole proprietorships;
·         Partnerships;
·         Holding companies;
·         Joint ventures;
·         Corporations; and
·         Business trusts or other entities that can be either privately or publically owned.

EB-5 Visa Job Creation Requirements

The investment must preserve or create a minimum of 10 full-time jobs for qualified workers in the United States. The job creation must take place within two years – or in certain cases, within a reasonable timeframe after two years – of the investor becoming a Conditional Permanent Resident in the United States. In order to qualify for “preserving” jobs, the investor must preserve jobs in a “troubled business” as defined by USCIS.


EB-5 Visa Capital Investment Requirements

The following may be considered “capital” for EB-5 eligibility:

·         Cash;
·         Inventory;
·         Equipment;
·         Other tangible property;
·         Cash equivalents; and
·         Indebtedness secured by assets owned by the immigrant entrepreneur, provided that the entrepreneur is primarily and personally liable and the assets of the commercial enterprise are not used to secure the indebtedness.

The fair-market value will be used to value all capital. If an asset was acquired illegally, then it cannot be part of the capital investment. Also, the immigrant cannot borrow the investment capital.

In most cases, the alien entrepreneur must invest at least $1 million in the United States to fulfill the capital investment requirement of the EB-5 visa. However, an investment of $500,000 may be sufficient if made in a rural or high-unemployment area.


If you believe that you may qualify for the EB-5 visa program, contact Kuck Immigration Partners. An Atlanta immigration attorney will help you gather and present the necessary documents and proof of eligibility. Call 404-816-8611 today to schedule a consultation.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

If You Are An Immigrant (even a US Citizen), Here Are 9 Things You Should Know

Are you a Naturalized U.S. Citizen, Lawful Permanent Resident, Visa Holder, or an Undocumented Immigrant? We recommend you take the following steps to protect yourself in our current version of America. The last couple of weeks have reminded immigrants, even naturalized U.S. citizens, that they were not born in the United States. Our office has received countless phone calls, emails, and social media messages from people worrying about what their family’s future in the United States holds. Most people want to know what they can do now to protect themselves from what promises to be a wave of anti-immigration activity by the federal government. Trump's Executive Order on Interior Enforcement has some provisions that should make most Americans shiver.  We recommend the following actions for each of the following groups: Naturalized U.S. citizens. In particular if you have a foreign accent, and you are traveling within 100 miles of any US Border (including the oceans

Seven Reasons Why the Georgia Legislature Should Repeal HB-87

Recently the Alabama Attorney General called on the Alabama State Legislature to repeal parts of Alabama's horrid anti-immigration law ( HB 56), because of the "unintended" consequences of the bill (frankly, what happened was not unintended). Because of the similarity between the two laws, Georgia's Speaker of the House, David Ralston was asked whether Georgia Legislature would repeal part or all of HB 87, Georgia own anti-immigration law. HB 87 has caused almost a half a billion dollars in damage to the Georgia economy (along with untold suffering in Georgia's immigrant communities) without any noted or reported positive effect. Speaker Ralston plainly stated that the Georgia Legislature would NOT do anything to repeal HB 87 . While it understandable why a politician would not admit that a pet bill he shepherded and pushed through the state legislature was simply bad law, it is also clear that Speaker Ralston is facing a challenge on his RIGHT in th

Why is USCIS Taking So Long to Renew DACA Work Permits?

If the calls to our office are any indicator, there are thousands of DACA recipients whose work permit applications were filed at least three months prior to expiration, who are still waiting for their renewed work permits.  Without renewed permits, these individuals lose the right to work legally, the right to drive, and may once again accrue unlawful presence. The DHS published a notice in October 2014 advising DACA recipients that they could file their request for extension up to 150 days (5 months) prior to expiration.  As with all things government, very few of the DACA recipients, who tend not to frequent government websites, knew about the memo and many did not file so far before expiration perhaps thinking that extending a work permit was a like extending a drivers license, its is done in a few minutes.  As an experienced immigration lawyer will tell you, the USCIS does nothing quickly, and certainly does not worry that a person may lose their job or their driver's licens