What is the EB-5 Program?
Established in 1990, the EB-5 program offers permanent US residence status, known as obtaining “green cards,” to foreigners willing to make a sizeable investment in the United States and thereby create at least 10 jobs, aside from those for the investor and any family members. In October, 2009, President Obama extended the recently expired EB-5 program. It is to become permanent under the Immigration Reform Bill proposed by Rep. Gutierrez under consideration this year by Congress. The program authorizes up to 10,000 permanent resident visas annually to qualified investors who invest between $500,000 and $1,000,000 in a high unemployment or rural area. A high unemployment area is one in which unemployment is at least 150% above the national average.

Who is Eligible to Participate?
Any investor and his dependent family members, which include unmarried children under 21, are all eligible for conditional green cards if the investment meets certain requirements. The family members, like the investor, may reside in the US and work and study there as well.

Regional Centers Offer Flexibility and a Smaller Investment Threshold
Since 1993, federally approved Regional Centers allow investors to create those jobs in conjunction with a larger pool of EB-5 seeking investors so that the amount to be invested can be as low as $500,000, and the jobs created can be indirect, based upon a statistical analysis. The beauty of investing through a Regional Center is that one need not be employed or even involved in the project where the investment is made; the investor is not restricted to where he or she resides in the United States. Examples of Regional Center investments are real estate limited partnerships that take the form of renovation and conversion of underused real estate into an income generating project. Another popular form is making low interest loans for five years to qualifying businesses. An example of a popular location Regional Center investment is the state of Vermont, since the entire state has been designated a Regional Center.

Direct Investment Details
If the investment is direct versus in a Regional Center, the investor must be employed at a management or policy-making level in the entity formed for the investment to be made. The investment must be $1,000,000 and result in employment for 10 US workers, excluding the investor and family members. The form of the enterprise can be a sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, holding company, corporation or other entity. It may be publicly or privately owned. However, owning and operating a personal residence does not qualify as it is considered to be a noncommercial activity.

The investment can be the creation of a new business, purchase of an existing business, or expansion of an existing business on the condition that, as a result of the investment, there is a 40% increase in the number of employees or net worth of the business. The investment can take the form of cash, equipment, tangible property, or indebtedness secured by assets of the investor. If the latter, the investor must be primarily liable on the debt. Moreover, the assets of the investment cannot be used to secure the indebtedness.

Source of Investment Reviewed
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) requires evidence that the capital invested be legal. Sources of the capital must be shown, as well as any judgments or pending governmental civil or criminal actions or private civil actions worldwide within the past 15 years.

Changing from a Conditional to Permanent “Green Card”
Whether the investment is through a Regional Center or direct, the permanent residence granted is conditional for two years.

No more than 90 days prior to the second anniversary of its issuance, the investor must apply to remove the conditional aspect of his or her permanent residence status. At that time, the investor must prove to the USCIS that the investment is ongoing and the projected employment of US workers, either direct or indirect through a Regional Center type investment, has occurred. An interview of the investor is at the discretion of the USCIS. The final decision as to permanent residence status is made by the USCIS within 90 days of the filing or 90 days of the interview. A child of the investor is still granted permanent residence even if he or she turns 21 during the two year conditional period. With permanent US residence or “green card” in hand, the investor and his family are five years away from US citizenship.