Many people who apply for extraordinary ability, or EB-1 immigration status, might not have the rigorous criteria to show they truly have achievements in the sciences, art, education, business, sports, or international prestige. But for individuals who have the money to invest in the United States, the immigrant investor program known as EB-5 can be very attractive. Each year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service allots 10,000 EB-5 visas.
EB-5 has two ways to qualify for legal permanent residency. An alien investor can make a capital investment of $500,000 in a USCIS-designated regional center or $1 million for a new business. Both ways strive to stimulate the American economy through job creation and allow the investor to bring their spouses and minor unmarried children. With the $1 million option, the alien investor must create 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers within two years of being in the U.S.
With the economy in doldrums, the EB-5 program can fuel local and regional jobs. “It’s a win for U.S. workers because they’re able to get jobs through this program,” says Cornell University immigration law professor Stephen Yale-Loehr. “It’s a win for project developers and cities and states because they are able to get money that they wouldn’t be able to tap into otherwise to fund their projects. And it’s a win obviously for the foreign investors because it allows them to get a green card.”
The EB-5 process is intense, so an individual will want to get legal representation to make sure every form and deadline is met. Each investor will want an experienced immigration attorney to review their I-526 petition to establish their eligibility for the EB-5 program. Once approved, the individual must then file I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Investors and their families are granted a conditional two-year residency status, so 90 days before the two-year anniversary they must complete I-829 to show all terms of the EB-5 program have been met. When this last step is successfully completed, the investor is issued a new green card without conditions and can live and work in the U.S. permanently.
Investors who want to seek this type of residency should get legal counsel early. The process can take around a year and immigration officers will want documentation to ensure the investor’s money and business are legitimate.
In Texas, Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee has more than 10 years of successfully guiding investors through the EB-5 program. In Houston a large EB-5 regional center is located in the Chinatown district east of downtown. Investors are coming from Mexico, China, South Korea, Nigeria, India, and Pakistan. Attorney Banerjee is an immigrant, and knows the care and attention each individual, family, and employer deserves to get their American dream underway.
A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.
