Definition of Investment Visa - Investment Green Card

The investment visa also known as the investment green card or the EB-5 visa, can enable you, your spouse and children under 21 to obtain permanent U.S. residency by investing $500,000 into a government designated Regional Center investment visa program. Citizenship may be obtained after five years.

You have the option to take almost any job, run a business or retire and live anywhere in the USA. As an EB-5 investment green card holder you will have access to many benefits enjoyed by US citizens such as education and in certain states, you will enjoy savings in property tax.

Your children may attend schools or apply to universities with the same rights as a U.S. citizen and unlike other investment visa options they do not have to leave at 21. Each member of the family may apply for U.S. citizenship after holding their green card for five years.
 
A Regional Center is an area designated by the USCIS as eligible to receive immigrant investment visa capital. Some Regional Centers give the impression that, because they are Government designated, the investment has the Government’s stamp of approval. They do not. All Regional Centers are Government designated for purposes of immigration. However this does not guarantee the investment. U.S.  Law states that a Regional Center investment must be ‘at risk’; it cannot be guaranteed and needs to be assessed on its own merits,

There are basically three types of Regional Center investments. If you decide that the EB-5 is your investment visa of choice, the next key decision is to select a Regional Center which −

•    Protects your capital
•    Has an established record of success with visa applications
•    Does not tie up your capital for longer than necessary
•    Is focused on your requirements as an investor and an immigrant rather than simply seeing you as a source of easy capital

Loan Based Investments - A few Regional Centers offer fixed term loan based programs, where your funds are lent to another organization. Sometimes these are government agencies such as development corporations for infrastructure projects where a municipality or associated development agency usually becomes responsible for repaying your capital. The implications of these options vary.
 
Equity Investments - active trading businesses - are asset based and can be either property or actively trading businesses some are managed directly by the company operating the Regional Center. They may be vulnerable to market forces thus their value and prospects can be difficult to determine.
 
Equity Investments - property based -A number of regional centers offering commercial property have suggested that although all investments carry risk property has advantages, particularly if it has no debt attached to it. The basis of such an argument is that when compared to a trading enterprise or a loan, property is a physical entity.  However, during periods of economic downturn property values may decline substantially. The key to property performance may lie in how much was paid for the property in the first place and who it was bought from.

Return of Capital - Which EB-5 Regional Centers have paid back the investment visa capital? Despite claims being made by a number of the regional centers, at the time of writing in 2010, we are aware of two centers that have repaid investment visa funds and two planning too.

Source of funds - Funds for investment may come from certain legal foreign or US sources; including gifts, loans, trusts are settlements. Whoever receives the visa must make the investment. Borrowed investment funds may qualify as long as they are not secured by the assets of the EB-5 investment.

Regional Centers are required to be certified as high unemployment areas to keep the minimum required EB-5 investment capital to $500,000. The USCIS (the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service) refers to this category as an Investment or Employment-based Green Card since it is based on an investment in a US business which will create at least ten US jobs.

Costs

•    In addition to the minimum capital contribution of $500,000, regional center administration fees vary from   $25,000 to over $60,000.
•    Legal fees vary according to the work involved and your choice of attorney; they vary between $12-25,000 with $18,000 being typical.
•    The EB5 visa filing fee, payable to the USCIS, is around $1,500 per applicant family.
•    The fee to the NVC (National Visa Center) is around $400 per family member.
•    Medical examinations are around $150 for each adult and $130 for children under 15.
 
After you have invested and your attorney has submitted your visa application your investment green card processing takes approximately 6 to 9 months. For planning issues, such as schooling, allow 9-12 months between visa application and the issue of your investment green card. This green card is 'conditional'.

Once you have emigrated, you must apply to have ‘conditions’ removed from your green card after 1 year and 9 months in the USA.  ‘Conditions’ removal (if successful) means that all family members have permanent residency.

The period for the investment is dependent on the Regional Centers exit strategy. This is an area of huge importance for investor visa applicants.