In 1990, the United States Congress enacted an Immigration Act, which created an employment creation immigrant investor visa program to be administered by United States Citizenship Immigration Services (“USCIS”) through its legacy agencies, the Bureau and Immigration Services and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The EB-5 Visa permits foreign nationals to receive conditional resident status in the United States in exchange for making a capital investment in the United States that will benefit the United States economy. Each investment needs to create or save at least ten direct full-time jobs for U.S. workers. The minimum of investments is one million dollars but that minimum amount is reduced to $500,000 if the investments is made in a high unemployment area or qualifying rural region.
In 1992, the United States Congress enacted the EB-5 regional center pilot program. This Immigrant Investor Pilot Program (the “Program”) allows both public and private entities to invest in pre-approved regional center. The Program allows an investor to create or save at least ten direct and indirect full-time jobs for U.S. workers.
