EB-5 Visa for Indians

EB-5 Investor Visa for Permanent residency to live, study and work anywhere in the United States of America

Usually, the Indians prefer to migrate for various reasons such as quality of lifestyle, the job opportunities, and excellent educational facilities. The EB-5 program offers the green card based on the investment conditions. By investing the US $900,000 plus the processing overhead cost, legal and filing fees in the US business, you can acquire the permanent US citizenship through the EB-5 visa. Further, the same is not subject to any residential restrictions. The investor can move around the country and free to do a job, live and retire in any part of the country. The benefit is extended to the investor, spouse and the dependent children up to 21 years.

Easier than other visa programs

When people applied for the other visa such as F-1 and H-1B Visa, there are plenty of problems they need to face. In the case of student visa and employment visa, there is a long procedure and lots of documents work followed by some government approvals. The sponsor is must in few visas so overall it’s the tough job to get the entrance in the USA. However, the EB-5 visa has lesser problems than the others and it’s the easiest gateway to the USA. For being eligible for the scheme, the investor needs to invest US $900,000 plus the processing overhead cost, legal and filing fees in the Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or in Rural Area or US $1.8 million plus the processing overhead cost, legal and filing fees in the Non-Targeted Employment Area (Non- TEA) which should ultimately result in the creation of 10 jobs in the US.

Who is EB-5 Visa for?

The EB-5 Visa is for anyone willing to make the requisite investment. It does not matter which country’s citizenship you currently hold. All the countries of the world are eligible for the EB-5 Visa. Whether you are from India, Brazil, China or any country in Africa, the rules for applying for the visa as an investor remain the same.

Benefits of EB-5 Visa

The EB-5 Visa is the fastest way to get a permanent residency and eventually the Green Card for you, your spouse, and your children under 21 years of age. Once you get the visa, you can start travelling to the United States without any restrictions. In addition, you can choose to live in any part of the US. To be able to do all this, you won’t even need an individual or company to sponsor you.

This visa category has one of the fastest naturalization processes that can make you a US citizen in just about five years. After this, you and your family will be entitled to all benefits that US citizens enjoy.

Prerequisites for getting the EB-5 Visa

Getting the EB-5 Visa requires all of the following. If you are meeting the requirements, you can get the visa and extend it to your immediate family without any hassles at all.

1. Make an investment of US $1.8 million or US $900,000 plus the processing overhead cost, legal and filing fees through the EB-5 scheme. The lower cap of the US $900,000 plus the processing overhead cost, legal and filing fees investment holds true when you are investing specifically in a Targeted Employment Area.
2. Create at least 10 direct or indirect jobs for American citizens.

Job creation for US citizens

One of the main aims of the US government rolling out the EB-5 Visa scheme in 1990 was to enhance America’s employment rates. That’s why the investment benchmark for Targeted Employment Areas is only half of the otherwise required amount for being eligible for the Visa. It is, therefore, a crucial part of the process to be creating the minimum required number of jobs in the US for citizens.

An outline of steps from choosing a business to invest in and to applying for US citizenship

Your application procedure will start with the I-526 form. You will need to fill and submit this to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The purpose of this form is to state that the petitioner has made the investment for the EB-5. Once your application is approved by the USCIS, you will file the DS-230 or I-485 application. The purpose of these applications is to let you get a conditional permanent residency.

Thereafter, you will need to create the 10 jobs as required for the EB-5 within the two years of conditional permanent residency. Then, you can file your next application, which would be the I-829 that eliminates the conditions from your residency. After you finish this step successfully, you, your spouse and your unmarried children under 21 years of age can get a 10-year Green Card for the US, five years after which, the entire family can apply for citizenship.

Direct EB-5 Visa versus going through regional center

After you have decided to invest in an EB-5 Visa, you can either go through it as an individual or via a regional center in the US. If you choose to go about it as an individual, you will have to create a detailed business plan that promises to employ 10 full-time workers locally.

If instead, you go through a regional center – something that the majority of investors applying for an EB-5 do, you can skip out the step of building your own business model and employment strategies. All you would need to do then is to choose a regional center and look into the available opportunities for investment at that instant.

You will start by depositing a minimum required capital to the escrow. Then, you fill the I-526 petition and submit it to the USCIS. You will initially get a conditional permanent residency for two years, within which you would need to create employment opportunity for a minimum of 10 US citizens.

In the nutshell, besides getting a guaranteed Green Card, you also stand a good chance of making profits on your investment. So if you have the capital, the EB-5 Visa is a great way of getting the citizenship of the United States.