EB5 Green Card: Can You Really “Buy” a Green Card for Five Hundred Thousand Dollars? 8 CFR 204.6 *

Could you afford to invest $500K for around 5 years? If so you can qualify for a green card right away!

The EB5 Investment Program was created in 1990 and is governed by the Department of Homeland Security under 8 CFR Section 204.6 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Under this program up to 10,000 applications may be approved annually that would provide the successful applicant and their immediate family members (spouse and children under 21) with green cards.

Readers of this outline are encouraged to read 8 CFR 204.6 for a detailed description of the EB5 requirements as the following information is only intended to serve as an abbreviated reference guide.

In overview, the EB5 requirements are as follows: -

* The Investor must invest at least one million dollars into a new business or going concern that will create at least 10 new full-time jobs.

* The investor may invest $500,000 in a rural area (population under 20,000) or where there is high unemployment (150% above national average).

* The Investor may borrow funds to raise the required cash amount, but the collateral for the loan cannot be secured against the business itself.

* The value of purchase in plant, equipment, machinery, stock, inventory and to revitalize such like may also be counted towards the overall investment requirement.

* The investor must maintain the required investment for at least two years to keep their green card or permanent resident status thereafter.

There is a surprisingly amount of people who have $500K to invest & if it guarantees them an EB5 green card to live free in America then why not?

Although it had been widely anticipated that providing the opportunity for investors to in effect buy their green cards in exchange for creating jobs, the EB5 has not proved to be a very popular immigration option. Speculatively speaking, this could be due to the possibility that more wealthy individuals looking to enter the US permanently don’t actually want to spend their time running a business of the size required to qualify for the EB5. Also, placing up to one million dollars at risk, so to speak, is not an insignificant amount of money.

A Breakthrough

Notwithstanding the above, there has been a big take up of a provision within the EB5 statutory provisions for wealthy investors to invest collectively through what are called ‘Federally Designated Regional Centers’ (FDRC). An FDRC is a company that may decide to build a shopping mall, develop infrastructure or undertake a multimillion dollar development of some kind. Having acquired FDRC status, the company is then permitted to solicit alien investors who can invest $500K into the project. By having FDRC status this enables the investor to then apply for and be granted their green cards.

The FDRC company has to show that over the course of the project they will create at least 10 new jobs directly or indirectly for each investor. As can be imagined multimillion dollar projects of this kind can create hundreds of jobs directly or indirectly. It should be noted that FDRC’s can count the indirect creation of jobs whereas individual investors may not do so, thus making the qualifying standard in this regard lower.

The $500K EB5 Green Card Investment is typically only for 5-6 years then you get your money back with interest and keep your green card for life - just in time for you to retire perhaps

When considering investing into an FDRC the investor should appreciate that just like in any business the monies invested are at risk; the project just like any other business could fail. Not all FDRC’s are the same as their particular projects will be subject to their own economic pressures and challenges.

Even with the assistance of this law firm, (or any law firm for that matter), the investor must carry out their own full due diligence before making their investment decision. As an immigration law office we can only advise our clients generally on whether a particular immigration choice is likely to be approved by US Immigration. It may be possible to invest monies but have the monies held in trust / escrow contingent on the visa being approved; we would certainly encourage that.

Getting Your Investment Money Back

The EB5 is a great option for entrepreneurs who want to spend time in the US exploring a variety of options and for retirees who just want to soak up the sun.

One of the benefits of investing in an FDRC is that whilst these projects often pay a very low annual rate of return, many of the programs are structured to enable you to “cash out” and get all of your investment monies back after about 5 – 6 years. The cashing out is not by any means a guarantee as all business dealing has its risks, the point here is that the better FDRC’s have an exit strategy provision in place so that you should be able to get your investment monies back within that time frame.

There are great FDRC’s and arguably not so good FDRCs out there. We are more than happy to assist our clients in any way we can and we do talk to various FDRC’s and can make introductions so that both parties can talk together.

FDRC’s have grown in popularity steadily because having made the investment, our clients can get on with their lives as permanent residents; they do not have to work, they can simply retire, they can invest in one state and live in another, they are completely free, and after 5 years in green card status they may be eligible to apply for US citizenship.

I would encourage you to read the 8 CFR outline link provided so you can read the provisions in full directly from the original source. It’s only about 10 pages so you can do this over a glass of wine or cup of tea! Afterwards, if you have any questions or require assistance in getting in touch with an FDRC, or starting your own EB5 business then we’d be happy to talk it over with you.

US Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram
Chris M. Ingram LL.M., ESQ – Immigration Attorney
Admitted in New York.
Practice Specializing in US Immigration Law
520 Broadway, Suite 350,
Santa Monica,
California 90401
Tel: 310 496 4292

Everyday the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram provides a comprehensive range of US Immigration expertise. We also provide a free consultation for our prospective clients.

General Location: Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Serving all 50 States
Copyright 2010

Please note that nothing contained in this website or link therefrom shall be regarded as providing legal advice. Please contact us directly for legal advice specific to your situation. Thank You.