EB-5 Visa Requirements and Application

Learn The EB-5 Requirements & Application With The Help Of A Chicago Visa Lawyer

The EB-5 visa is available to foreign investors that meet certain requirements. The program was created in 1990 to encourage foreign investment that generated jobs. You will need to meet the requirements to be eligible to apply for the EB-5 visa.

Requirements

• Capital Investment: A minimum investment of $1,000,000 is required. However, the minimum is reduced to $500,000 if the investment is in a commercial entity within a Targeted Employment Area. Targeted Employment Areas are either rural areas or areas with unemployment rates that are 150 percent or more of the national unemployment rate. Investments can be in the form of cash, property, equipment, inventory, cash equivalents or other loans that are secured by your personal assets.
• Commercial Enterprise: The entity that you invest in must be a new commercial enterprise. New commercial enterprises are defined as those that are for-profit and established after November 29, 1990. Commercial enterprises established after November 29, 1990 that have been restructured or reorganized to be a new commercial enterprise or have been expanded with the investment in such a way that there is a 40% increase in net worth or number of employees will also qualify. The enterprise can be any of the following:
  • Sole proprietorship
  • Partnership
  • Holding company
  • Joint venture
  • Corporation
  • Business trust
  • Other privately or publicly owned entity

• Job Creation: The commercial enterprise needs to create 10 jobs are more for qualified workers in the United States within two years of you being admitted as a conditional permanent resident. The jobs may be direct or qualified indirect jobs. If the commercial enterprise is a troubled one, then at least 10 jobs need to be preserved. A troubled business is one that was started two or more years ago and has faced a loss that is 20 percent or more of its net worth in the past 12 or 24 months before the priority date on your Form I-526.
• Management: You need to show that you are going to be actively involved in managing the business.

Application

1. You need to file a Form I-526. When you complete Form I-526, you need to be accurate and detailed. Be sure to provide the appropriate documentation. You will need to show that you have already invested or are in the process of investing in a new commercial enterprise by submitting the appropriate documents such as bank statements and asset verifications.  You will also need to show that the investment will create or preserve at least 10 jobs.
2. After the Form I-526 has been approved by USCIS, you will need to:
   1. Complete and file Form I-485 which will allow you to adjust your status to a conditional permanent resident; or
   2. Complete and file Form DS-230 or DS-260 to receive an EB-5 visa.

The process to obtain an EB-5 visa is not simple. You need to be thorough in completing the application and providing the proper documentation. You can trust us at Kriezelman Burton & Associates, LLC to provide you with the proper guidance to help you navigate the process.