Legal Overview

Congress enacted the Immigration Act of 1990, which includes a program permitting foreign investors to obtain permanent residence in the United States. Section 121(b)5 of the Act created a new investor immigrant visa category aimed at generating a significant inward flow of foreign capital and creating jobs for U.S. workers. The new legislation makes 10,000 green cards of permanent residency available nationwide each year for qualified immigrant investors. The Act requires a capital investment of $1 million for all areas, except in rural and high unemployment areas in which a lowered investment of $500,000 may be made. The investment must also create full-time employment for at least 10 U.S. citizens or other legal residents; this does not include members of the investor's family, for a period of two years. Entrepreneurs will receive a two-year provisional visa and, if and when the criteria are met, a permanent green card may be issued. The Immigration Act states that not less than 3,000 of the 10,000 visas shall be reserved for investors who establish a new commercial enterprise in a targeted employment area (TEA). The law requires that the qualifying level of high unemployment be 150 percent of the annual national average unemployment rate.

There have been several related subsequent Congressional enactments since the creation of the EB-5 visa category. In 1993 Congress created the related EB-5 Pilot Program as part of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, State Judiciary, and Related Appropriations Act of 1993. In 2002, Congress passed the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations and Authorization Act of 2002, which extended and simplified the EB-5 visa category by removing several administrative and legal hurdles created by the INS and subsequent court decisions. In 2003 Congress reauthorized the Regional Center Pilot Program, in the Basic Pilot Program Extension and Expansion Act of 2003. $500,000 investments in targeted employment areas made via a Regional Center need only show indirect job creation using any "reasonable methodologies."

Policy Factors

It is the policy of the EB-5 visas, along with the related Pilot Program, to benefit the U.S. economy overall. U.S. communities that are economically challenged benefit from EB-5 Visas as well. United States workers and the foreign national investors enjoy benefits that normally would not be available under a different type of visa. The key goal of the EB-5 visa program is to generate a "win-win" situation for all parties involved

In 2003, a U.S. Government report indicated that about $1 billion has been invested in the U.S. through the EB-5 program. That figure today has nearly tripled. EB-5 Visas are not just about gaining entry into the United States. It's about working together for a joint purpose. Given the positive impact of this program in creating U.S. jobs and economic development, we feel the program is here to stay.