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The United States EB-5 visa, employment-based fifth preference category[1] or EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program was created in 1990 by the Immigration Act of 1990. It provides a method for eligible immigrant investors to become lawful permanent residents—informally known as "green card" holders—by investing substantial capital to finance a U.S. business (known as a "new commercial enterprise") as long as it creates at least 10 new, full-time jobs for Americans and work-authorized immigrants.[2] The EB-5 program is intended to encourage both "foreign investments and economic growth."[3] The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program is one of five employment-based (EB) preference programs in the United States.[4]: 4
Based on the EB‐5 Reform and Integrity Act, which was signed into law on March 15, 2022, the minimum investment requirement to qualify under the EB-5 program is $1,050,000.[5] The investment requirement is reduced to $800,000, however, if the investment is made in a qualifying infrastructure project or targeted employment area (TEA). Most immigrant investors who use the EB-5 program invest in a targeted employment area (TEA)[6]: 8 —a rural area or area with high unemployment rate in order to invest less capital.[7] Investors who make a TEA investment or an infrastructure investment for the $800,000 investment minimum qualify for EB-5 "set aside" visas, which are broken down intro three categories: infrastructure projects; projects in high-employment areas; and projects in rural areas.
Applicants have the choice of investing directly or through a "larger investor pool via regional centers (RCs)",[4]: 2 which are federally approved investment issuers that "connect foreign investors with developers in need of funding, and take a commission."[8][9][10][4] Regional centers are usually private, for-profit businesses that are approved by the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.[10][11]
As of April 4, 2023, there are 640 USCIS-approved regional centers,[12] and as of March 2023, the "vast majority" of EB-5 visas were "granted through regional center[s]."[6]: 4 By 2015, the EB-5 program had become an "important source of capital for developers"[4] and for the regional centers.[10] If an EB-5 investment is made in a regional center, the jobs may be created indirectly through economic activity, as opposed to a direct investment. [13]
As of April 23, 2020, 78,278 investors have applied for the EB-5 program.[14] Most investors—about 80 percent—come from four countries: China, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Large numbers of applicants have also come from Vietnam, India, Brazil, Mexico, and Nigeria.[14] In 2014, 85% of the 10,692 EB-5 visas issued were for Chinese nationals, according to a study by Savills Studley, a "real estate services firm."[15][16] On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed a law extending the Regional Center Program through September 30, 2020.[17] On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed a law extending the regional center program through September 30, 2027.[18]
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