Overview
Eligibility
How Do I?
Where Do I Apply
Overview
Under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (INA), 8
U.S.C. ?1153(b)(5), 10,000 immigrant visas per year are
available to qualified individuals seeking permanent resident
status on the basis of their engagement in a new commercial
enterprise.
Of the 10,000 investor visas (i.e.,
EB-5 visas) available annually, 5,000 are set aside for those
who apply under a pilot program involving an CIS-designated "Regional
Center.?
A "Regional Center:"
- Is an entity, organization or
agency that has been approved as such by the Service;
- Focuses on a specific geographic
area within the United States; and ,
- Seeks to promote economic growth
through increased export sales, improved regional productivity,
creation of new jobs, and increased domestic capital investment.
"Alien investors" must:
- Demonstrate that a "qualified
investment" (see below) is being made in a new commercial enterprise
located within an approved Regional Center; and,
- Show, using reasonable methodologies,
that 10 or more jobs are actually 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.
Eligibility
Permanent resident status based
on EB-5 eligibility is available to investors, either alone or
coming with their spouse and unmarried children. 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 further demonstrate
that this investment will benefit the United States economy and
create the requisite number of full-time jobs for qualified persons
within the United States.
In general, "eligible individuals"
include those:
- Who establish a new commercial
enterprise by:
- creating an original business;
- purchasing an existing business
and simultaneously or subsequently restructuring or reorganizing
the business such that a new commercial enterprise results;
or
- 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
- Who have invested -- or who are
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
- Whose engagement in a new commercial
enterprise will benefit the United States economy and:
- create full-time employment
for not fewer than 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.
For a full description of the
requirements, see 8
U.S.C. ?1153(b)(5) and 8
C.F.R. ?204.6.
How Do
I...
...Seek Status as an
Immigrant Investor
In order to seek status as an immigrant
investor, you must file CIS Form
I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur. The Form
I-526 must be filed with supporting documentation which clearly
demonstrates that the individual's investment meets all requirements,
such as:
- establishing a new commercial
enterprise,
- investing the requisite capital
amount,
- proving the investment comes
from a lawful source of funds,
- creating the requisite number
of jobs,
- demonstrating that the investor
is actively participating in the business; and, where applicable,
- reating employment within a targeted
employment area.
For a full description of the
requirements, see 8
U.S.C. ?1153(b)(5) and 8
C.F.R. ?204.6.
You can find the Form I-526 and
the fee information on our Forms,
Fees, and Filing Locations chart.
...Obtain Status as
a Conditional Resident
Once the Form I-526 is approved,
immigrant investors may obtain status as a conditional resident
by:
- Filing CIS Form
I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or
Adjust Status, if residing within the United States; or,
- Applying
for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad, if residing
outside the United States.
...Become a Permanent
Resident Based on Investment
In order to become a lawful permanent
resident, eligible investors must file a CIS Form
I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions. Form
I-829 must be filed within 90 days before the second anniversary
of an Alien Investor's admission to the United States as a
conditional resident.
For a description of the requirements
for removal of conditions, see 8
C.F.R. ?216.6.
Where
Do I Apply?
You should file the CIS Form I-526
at the CIS Service
Center having jurisdiction over the area in which the new
commercial enterprise will be principally doing business.
