EB-5 (Employment Based Fifth Preference Visa)

You may be eligible for an EB-5 visa if you have invested in a new commercial enterprise that was established:

• After Nov. 29, 1990; or
• On or before Nov. 29, 1990, that was
  • Purchased and the existing business is restructured or reorganized in such a way that a new commercial enterprise results; or
  • Expanded through the investment, resulting in at least a 40% increase in the net worth or number of employees

A new commercial enterprise means any for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of lawful business, including:

• A sole proprietorship;
• Partnership (limited or general);
• Holding company and its wholly owned subsidiaries (provided that each subsidiary is engaged in a for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of a lawful business);
• Joint venture;
• Corporation;
• Business trust;
• Limited liability company; or
• Other entity, which may be publicly or privately owned

Job Creation Requirements

An EB-5 investor must investor must invest the required amount of capital in a new commercial enterprise that will create full-time positions for at least 10 qualifying employees.

• For a new commercial enterprise not located within a regional center, the new commercial enterprise must directly create the full-time positions to be counted. This means that the new commercial enterprise (or its wholly owned​ subsidiaries) must itself be the employer of the qualifying employees.
• For a new commercial enterprise located within a regional center, the new commercial enterprise can directly or indirectly create the full-time positions. Up to 90% of the job creation requirement for regional center investors may be met using indirect jobs.
  • Direct jobs establish an employer-employee relationship between the new commercial enterprise and the persons it employs.
  • Indirect jobs are held outside of the new commercial enterprise but are created as a result of the new commercial enterprise.
• In the case of a troubled business, the EB-5 investor may rely on job maintenance.
  • The investor must show that the number of existing employees is, or will be, no less than the pre-investment level for a period of at least two years.

Capital Investment Requirements

Capital means cash and all real, personal, or mixed tangible assets owned and controlled by the immigrant investor. All capital will be valued at fair-market value in U.S. dollars.

Minimum investment amounts by filing date and investment location:

Targeted Employment Area is either a rural area (any area other than an area within a metropolitan statistical area or within the outer boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more according to the most recent census of the US or an area that has experienced high unemployment (defined as at least 150% of the national average unemployment rate).

Immigrant Visa Set-Asides

The Eb-5 Reform and Integrity Act created new EB-5 immigrant visa set-asides for qualified immigrant investors. Each fiscal year, a certain percentage of EB-5 immigrant visas are available to qualified immigrants who invest in specific areas: