What is an EB5?

For intending immigrants from countries with long visa backlogs, an EB-5 investment immigration petition is one of the most efficient methods of acquiring legal permanent residence in the United States.  Even for those intending immigrants who are from countries that do not have a visa queue, the EB-5 petition features some of the shortest overall green card processing times with few restrictions on eligibility.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act Section 203(b)(5) a petitioner can qualify for an EB-5 visa through one of the three ways:

1. Invest $1,000,000 in any region within the USA and create no less than 10 full-time jobs  (excluding opportunities for applicant him/herself and family members)
2. Invest $500,000 and create no less than 10 full-time jobs in a “targeted employment area”. (Either a rural area or an area with an unemployment rate of 1.5 times higher than the national unemployment rate.)
3. Invest $500,000 in “regional centers” approved by the USCIS.

Currently, the quota U.S. government issues each year for investment immigration is 10,000, out of which 3,000 are reserved to investors who invest to "regional centers."