EB-5 is an investment based immigration program where foreign investors who invest in the United States and create jobs for American workers can apply for permanent residency or a “Green Card“.

• An immigrant investor who invests $1.05 Million (or $800,000 in a target employment area) and creates 10 jobs for American workers can achieve permanent residency (or green card) for themselves and qualifying family members. To qualify as an “investment” the investor’s project is required to have risk.

• The program has various requirements and stipulations such as how the jobs are counted, what documentation needs to be provided and more. There are 2 styles of investment, investing directly or through a federally-designated Regional Center. When investing directly, the investor makes a direct investment into a job creating company.

• A USCIS approved Regional Center is a vehicle that has gone through a sort of pre-approval process with USCIS. The Regional Center pilot program’s core purpose is to make the EB-5 investment process easier for the investor, more streamlined for USCIS approvals, and further promote U.S. economic growth. The Regional Center essentially can take all the management and job creation responsibilities out of the hands of the investor. The Regional Center is a powerful job creating entity that is granted the capability to pool multiple investors together like a “fund” and create jobs in multiple direct and indirect capacities.

• Most regional center projects are in Target Employment Areas, allowing the EB-5 investors to take advantage of the lower investment threshold. Most EB-5 investments made today are invested through EB-5 regional centers.