Thinking of acquiring a U.S. green card? Here are 8 reasons why the EB-5 investor visa may be more beneficial than the regular visa program.

1. EB-5 Investor Visa Program is a relatively newer program, formed in 1990 by Congress. As such, it's only recently grown in popularity. It does not yet have the quota backlogs that regular visa programs have. Whereas, family and employment based green cards have many backlogs and longer waiting times for processing.
2. The regular family and employment based visas require sponsorship from employers or family members. The EB-5 investor visa has no sponsorship requirements.
3. One of the biggest advantages of the EB-5 investor visa is that not only does the EB-5 investor have the ability to live and work in the U.S. in any capacity, but so does his or her spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21. The regular visa holder must maintain lawful status.
4. The EB-5 immigrant investor program has an option for the EB-5 investor to invest $500,000 in a targeted employment area, instead of the standard $1,000,000 for direct investment.
5. The EB-5 program gives the EB-5 investor's whole family a green card, while the employment or family based visas only provide green cards for the individual applicants.
6. It is much easier for an EB-5 investor visa holder to travel between his or her homeland and the U.S., while traveling on a regular visa is incredibly difficult. Regular visa holders face complex situations when it comes to return visa applications.
7. Through the EB-5 program, the investors family can become residents of the state and pay in-state tuition for Universities, while regular visa holders pay expensive costs for education.
8. The two-year conditional residency requirement for the EB-5 investor visa holder counts toward the five years for lawful permanent residency, while there are no benefits for the regular visa holders.

Some of the pitfalls to the EB-5 program include the risk of investment. There is no way around the risk. This requires the EB-5 investor to seek professionals to assist with filing, decision making, economic planning, and due diligence. Agents, immigration attorneys, and economic planners can help build solid cases for investments to lower risk.