Foreign investors who wish to live, work, study, and travel freely in the United States should consider investing in the EB-5 Program.
The EB-5 Program provides foreign investors a faster route to gaining United States citizenship for themselves and their family.
When an EB-5 investor invests $500,000 into a U.S. business and creates 10 qualified jobs they become eligible to apply for unconditional permanent residency in the U.S.
Here are the simplified steps explaining the EB-5 path to U.S. citizenship. If an investor is approved at a step, then they move on to the next. If they are denied, they can either speak to an attorney and seek more information to fix the problem, or they can find an alternate route to U.S. citizenship.
Find an EB-5 Regional Center and suitable project to invest in. For a list of USCIS designated regional centers, visit here.
Consult with an Immigration Attorney in the United States.
Invest the minimum $500,000 into the Regional Center's EB-5 Project. If an investor does not invest in a targeted employment area (TEA), then the minimum investment amount is $1,000,000.
An investor's attorney will provide proof of their investment by submitting an I-526 Petition to USCIS.
If approved, the investor can receive conditional U.S. residency. If an investor is already lawfully in the U.S., to attain residency they can adjust their status by filing Form I-485. If they are not already in the U.S. they may have to go through the consular process in their home country.
Investors must file their I-829 Petition within 2 years to remove their conditional status. At this stage they will have to prove that they funded the investment and that it created the requisite number of jobs in order to receive approval.
If approved, investors, their spouses, and unmarried children under the age of 21, will receive unconditional permanent residency or green card status.
After 5 years from the date of their conditional residency, investors may apply for citizenship.
