EB 5 Investor Visa Application Process

An EB-5 visa is also known by the name of the Immigrant Investor Program. After getting an EB-5 investor visa, you become eligible to become a permanent resident of the US. One condition for this is that you should invest at least $1,050,000 in a new business venture in the US. If you are investing in a business set up in any area of high unemployment, you can secure a large discount, with an investment level of only $8,00,000.

Here are the four steps you should complete if you are looking forward to becoming a permanent resident of the US through this program.

1. Locate an EB-5 project
The first step for an investor would be to find a suitable business project for themselves in which they can invest. These projects are offered by approved Regional Centers and they are usually real estate developments. D&A is able to offer due diligence on your chosen Regional Center project to help mitigate the risk to your investment and Green Card.

2. Investing the Capital in the Project
Once you have chosen the project you wish to invest in, you need to make the required investment. The minimum investment required for this visa is $800,000 in Targeted Employment Areas and $1,050,000 elsewhere. The investments are generally made through an escrow account, and then you will need an immigration attorney to provide proof of the same. Your EB 5 immigration attorney will file an I-526 petition with the USCIS, and it will inform you whether or not your I-526 application has been approved or not. This process generally takes 12-18 months, but people born in India are facing additional delays because of oversubscription to the EB-5 Visa program. If your application isn’t accepted, you will receive a refund.

3. 2-Year Residency in the US
Once your I-526 application is approved, you can move to the United States. There are two different ways to do this. One is by filling the form I-485 if you already have lawful status in the US and need to adjust your status. Another option is by applying for an immigration visa with the US consulate or embassy. For both these options, you will require the help of an immigration attorney, and you cannot leave the country for more than one year without getting re-entry permission.

4. The Final Step
The final step relates to granting you permanent residency of the country be doing away of the conditional requirements. An I-829 petition has to be submitted to the USCIS, which verifies that you have fulfilled all the obligations before granting you permanent residency.