Chicago EB-5 Visa Lawyers

The United States Government has sought to promote investment by offering the “EB-5” program as a means for foreign nationals to acquire permanent residency in the U.S. This visa covers individuals who invest $1,000,000 (or $500,000 if the area of investment is demonstrated to be a TEA, or targeted employment area) in a new commercial enterprise that employs at least 10 USCs or LPR workers on a full-time basis. Investors are initially given conditional permanent residency and at the conclusion of a two-year period, when they show that they have met the basic requirements for such an investment, they are granted a full ten-year green card.

Investors have the option of either actively managing the business through day-to-day management and policy formulation or obtaining their green cards through a passive investment in a Regional Center, which pool resources and invest funds in varied industries such as real estate, hospitality, educational services, health care, manufacturing, and retail trade. With the recent 3-year re-authorization of the Regional Center Pilot Program, investors have been given another opportunity to continue benefiting from the expertise of these centers. Where an investor chooses to actively manage a business, the underlying commercial enterprise can be set up through a broad spectrum of business entities, including a limited partnership, holding company, and wholly-owned subsidiaries of such entities. The entity must be for-profit. The investor must demonstrate that the funds have been placed at risk, that the source of funds is legitimate, and that the required 10 jobs will be created during a two-year conditional residency period granted to the investor. Kriezelman Burton and Associates has successfully represented investors in the EB-5 program based on ongoing and new investments.