To EB-5 or not to EB-5?

The term ‘EB-5’ has been buzzing around a lot lately. But what is EB-5? What does it stand for? And, more importantly, what does EB-5 mean for me? First things first: EB-5 is a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Immigrant Investor Program. The program was created in 1990 to stimulate the US economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign nationals. Because of the sustainable job creation of each investment, the US government allows EB-5 investors to apply for permanent residency within the United States. Due to the unfortunate state of the US economy, the EB-5 Program has seen a significant increase in popularity as it addresses several fundamental needs that can help to restore the economy—job creation, economic stimulation, and alternative funding sources.

For a firmer grip on what EB-5 is, we must answer the second question: What does EB-5 stand for? EB-5 stands for Employment Based-Fifth Preference. There are five ways to obtain US visas through employment. The first four preferences relate to your own employment. The last, or fifth, preference requires that the applicant employ others. Since the Immigrant Investor Program focuses on job creation and the employment of others, it satisfies the fifth preference and is thus called the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, or EB-5, for short.

Finally, the most important question: What does EB-5 mean for me? By its very nature, the EB-5 program provides plenty of benefits to US citizens. The purpose of the program is to create jobs and stimulate local economies through foreign investments. Jobs are created in areas of high unemployment and employ US citizens. With the addition of jobs, the EB-5 Program helps to stimulate the economy as additional revenue is introduced into the area. The biggest perk of all: these benefits are achieved through EB-5 investment funds—not US tax dollars.

So how do these EB-5 investors create the jobs through their investments? The easiest way is to team up with a Regional Center. Two years after the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program was created, the USCIS introduced the EB-5 Pilot Program. The EB-5 Pilot Program created the Regional Center. A Regional Center is a United States government approved entity dedicated to the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment of a regional.

Regional Centers, like Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group (CFIG), facilitate the matching of foreign investment funds with viable projects. CFIG, in particular, is approached both by foreign nationals interested in obtaining an EB-5 visa and local businesses and projects in search of alternative funding sources. Regional Centers are popping up all across the country. The past few years have seen a growth in the number of designated EB-5 Regional Centers nationwide of over one hundred percent.

The seemingly overwhelming immigration and funding processes can be easily managed by the firms associated with Regional Centers. For example, CFIG was born out of both the need for a Regional Center in Chicago and its principal’s 16 years of experience as an immigration and international business law attorney. Regional Centers offer the perfect starting point for discovering the role that the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program can play in your life and the life of your project.

EB-5 Investor Immigration Program: EB-5 Investors Can Boost Employment

EB-5 Investor Immigration Program: EB-5 Investors Can Boost Employment: How Foreign Investors Can Boost Employment With the continued economic instability, elected officials in all major cities, including C...

EB-5 Investor Immigration Program: EB-5 101

EB-5 Investor Immigration Program: EB-5 101: Launched in 1990, the EB-5 immigrant investor program was designed to stimulate the U.S. economy by attracting foreign investors able to cr...

EB-5 101

Launched in 1990, the EB-5 immigrant investor program was designed to stimulate the U.S. economy by attracting foreign investors able to create jobs. Often incorrectly labeled an immigration program, Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group recognizes the importance of properly explaining EB-5’s origin, mission, and terminology in order to elucidate the many economic benefits.

 At Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, we recognize that the EB-5 visa category has been instrumental for both foreign nationals interested in investing in the U.S. and for job creation. The name of the program comes from the fact that this visa is the 5th category of employment based (EB) visas. Ten thousand visas are set aside annually for investors and their immediate family members under the program. Each investment must create at least 10 new jobs.

What Are the Basic Criteria Required for an EB-5 Visa? In order to qualify for an EB-5 Visa, an investor must invest at least $1,000,000, or $500,000 for a project in a “targeted employment area” (as discussed below), in an enterprise that will create at least 10 new full-time jobs for U.S. citizens and legal residents. If the project is an existing business, the 10 new jobs have to be in addition to the existing jobs in the business. Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group can help further demystify the visa application process.

What is a Targeted Employment Area? A targeted employment area is any city, county, census tract or other geographical area accepted by the USCIS that has an unemployment rate over 150% of the national average rate, or a “rural area.” A rural area is an area outside a metropolitan statistical area or outer boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more.

What is an EB-5 Regional Center? A Regional Center is an entity created by either a public or private group to sponsor projects for EB-5 investors. There are currently about 150 approved Regional Centers, but many more applications are pending with the USCIS and are expected to be approved if their business plans are considered feasible and meet the job creation criteria. According to the trade association IIUSA, Regional Centers have invested over $2.0 billion of foreign capital, creating over 50,000 jobs in the U.S. Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group has the only regional center that allows investors to invest on themselves and play a vital role in their own projects

Who are the EB-5 Investors? EB-5 investors can come from any country outside the U.S., and can even include people who are in the U.S. legally under a temporary visa. In the first three quarters of fiscal 2011, over 70% of all EB-5 investors have come from mainland China and Dubai, where Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group has very strong contacts.

What issue has caused the most problem when applying for an EB-5 visa? The most common problem area has been insufficient documentation of the source of funds. Many people try to disclose the least possible information only to have the file returned with a request for further information.

With the continued economic instability in the United States, the EB-5 program offers a tremendous opportunity to build infrastructure and promote job growth. Chicagoland Foreign Investment group remains committed to both educating and promoting this powerful stimulus program.

EB-5 Investors Can Boost Employment

How Foreign Investors Can Boost Employment

With the continued economic instability, elected officials in all major cities, including Chicago, are left scrambling for vital funds to pay teacher salaries, repair infrastructure, and keep the city clean and safe. But as they rearrange funds at the expense of vital programs, Executive Director of Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, Taher Kameli, says that the answer to our economic woes really lay overseas. Kameli weighs in on the government program EB-5 and how it can help bring select cities across America back to life.

The EB-5 program was created in 1990 to entice foreign investors into opening businesses in America to boost the economy in exchange for a green card, allowing for conditional residency for individuals investing between $500,000 and $1 million in a new commercial enterprise. Said enterprise must directly employ 10 US citizens or authorized immigrants full-time and the investor must engage in the business in some form, either directly through day-to-day managerial tasks or indirectly through policy formation. The minimum investment amount varies based on the geographical area, also termed “Regional Center,” and whether or not said area is a “Targeted Employment Area” (TEA) as designated by the state, meaning that said area has an unemployment rate at least 150% of the national average. A Regional Center is a specific geographic area within the US that has been approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and seeks to promote economic growth through things like new job creation and increased export sales. There are 150 Regional Centers throughout the United States, and 10,000 investor immigrant visas per year that are available to qualified investors seeking permanent residence.

“The EB-5 program presents us with tremendous opportunity to build infrastructure and promote job growth within Chicago, but many aren’t taking advantage of it because they’re simply not familiar with the program,” says Taher Kameli. “When used to its full extent, the EB-5 program can be used to build schools, hospitals, and assisted living centers among others, creating jobs and helping citizens throughout the Chicago regional center.”