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What does "EB-5" stand for exactly?

It stands for Employment-based 5th category. Under the U.S. immigration law, there are five different categories of immigrating through employment-based avenues, and since EB-5 deals with employment-creation, it's been designated as the 5th category of Employment-based methods of immigrating. EB-5 is also commonly referred to as Investor Green Card or Investment Green Card.

For many Indian Nationals the EB-5 visa program is the fastest route to a “green card”. In return for an investment of either five or ten Lakh United States dollars* an investor, his spouse and children under the age of twenty-one can receive permanent residency in the United States.

Direct vs. Regional Centre EB-5:

Every EB-5 Investor has to make a decision whether to apply for their EB-5 based “green card” through the Regional Centre or Direct program. In our experience many Indian investors confuse the concepts of risk and control when making this decision. While the Direct EB-5 Program allows an investor to invest in their own business a direct investment can be higher risk than an EB-5 Regional Centre based investment.

More on choosing between a Direct vs. Regional Centre EB5.

Direct EB-5: Investing in your own Business

A direct EB-5 application allows an Indian investor to make an investment in his or her own business. With approximately 90% of all EB-5 investments are made through the Regional Centre program very few law firms have any experience with Indian Direct EB-5 applications.

Regional Centre EB-5: Investing through a Regional Centre

Making an EB-5 qualified investment through a Regional Centre can be a simple and effective route to a “green card”. Out of the over 600 Regional Centres there is a very small cadre of Regional Centres offering a ten history of thousands of “green cards” approvals, having multiple projects fully repaid

With over 600 Regional Centre registrations it can be difficult to select a Regional Centre.

Funding your EB-5 Investment:
The Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) and the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (“LRS”)

Since the RBI promulgated the LRS Emigration restriction in July 2015 it has become essential to engage a law firm with significant experience of navigating Indian regulations and the LRS.

Over recent years the RBI has varied the amount of capital resident Indian Nationals are allowed to remit outside the United States using the LRS. The RBI LRS limit currently stands at USD 250,000.00 per person per Indian tax year.

In July 2015 the RBI issued a circular purporting to severely restrict the ability of Indian nationals to remit funds outside of India to make an investment that qualifies that investor for Emigration purposes.

Despite the RBI regulations we have yet to have a client who has been unable to legally transfer the funds needed to make an EB5 investment. While we are a US immigration law firm our firm retains experienced Indian counsel who assist our clients transfer funds for EB5 and L-1 investment purposes.

Preventing Unnecessary Taxes

Before making any investment in the United States we strongly encourage Indian Nationals to take appropriate tax planning advice. Failing to do so can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars of unnecessary tax liabilities. An experienced tax advisor should be familiar with the terms of the dual taxation agreement between the United States and India.

Making an EB-5 investment is a complex matter involving the analysis of myriad laws and regulations. Unfortunately non-lawyers are not qualified to provide this advice and it is a criminal offense in the U.S. for them to attempt to do so.

Similarly many lawyers lack the sophisticated lending law and project finance experience to properly advise clients on EB-5 applications. This can result in an unmitigated disaster in which clients loose all of their money. A properly qualified and experienced lawyer can guide you through and avoid many of these risks. To date no application filed by our firm has ever been denied and no client of our firm has ever not been repaid their investment in full.

Processing Your Application

Your application MUST be filed in the United States where it can be the subject of questions and processes that a U.S. based law firm can address for you.

Once your application has been approved in the U.S. applicants resident in India will be required to attend an immigrant interview at a consulate in India.

The EB-5 visa for Immigrant Investors is a United States Visa created by the Immigration Act of 1990. This visa provides a method of obtaining a green card for foreigner who invest money in the United States. To obtain the visa, individuals must invest $1,000,000 (or at least $500,000 in a “Targeted Employment Area” – high unemployment or rural area), creating or preserving at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers excluding the investor and their immediate family.

EB-5 Investor VISA Program
Advantages of the EB-5 Investor Visa Program:

* One of the simpler, less expensive and most expedited process to obtain a US. green card.

*You and your family can work, live, go to school, and retire anywhere in the United States.

*You, your wife and your children that are unmarried and under the age of 21, will also be able to qualify for the EB-5 visa under the same petition.

*You will have access to the same college education with the same cost as any resident in the United States.

*No need to manage daily business operations and employees.

*Having the choice to become a US Citizen 5 years after you receive a unconditional green card.
If the foreign investor’s petition is approved, the investor and their dependents will be granted conditional permanent residence valid for two years. Within the 90 day period before the conditional permanent residence expires, the investor must submit evidence documenting that the full required investment has been made and that 10 jobs have been maintained, or 10 jobs have been created or will be created within a reasonable time period.