With the stricter norms on H-1B and a long queue for the green card, EB-5 has emerged as the surest path to migrate to the US. However, all of this may come to an end on September 30.
The EB-5 visa that requires the applicant to invest a minimum of $500,000 has a very little support in Congress. The investor that wants to invest in the funds in a private company’s ‘Regional Center’ and who can create at least 10 jobs for American workers can seek green card approval for their spouse and three children via the EB-5 route.
However, in this entire process, there are four key players involved - the EB-5 investor, US lawyer, a private company that is creating infrastructure project in targeted areas that has high unemployment and USCIS, the government agency that authorizes the green card. If the project is not in a targeted employment area (TEA) then the minimum investment requirement is $1 million.
In the current state of things, the US lawyer provides proof that Indian candidate’s investment is sourced from lawful means. The regional center project needs to win the TEA classification from the US government. And if the government approves the initial petition, which may take up to three months, the investor is placed in line to obtain a ‘conditional’ green card through consular processing.
By applying through EB-5 route, the applicant can get the green card in as short as one and a half year’s period. However, the real catch is here. Within two years, the lawyer has to petition to remove the conditional constraints on the green cards. The candidate and the lawyer have to provide evidence that TEA project has created at least 10 US jobs as per the norm. This is the risky bet as the project may go bust or otherwise provide not to be a job creator. If this happens, the conditional green cards can be revoked.
The investment here is a bilateral agreement between the investor and promoter company. The legal authorities have no stake in the deal. If the project fails or declares bankruptcy, the investor has little chances of revoking the principal amount of investment. The EB-5 program has become rife with the fraud due to a lack of investor protection.
There are a number of cases where US companies were charged by the SEC for defrauding a number of investors. These kinds of frauds are the primary reason why the EB-5 provision has very little support in Congress. There are chances that this visa may come to an end on September 30. If you want to bet $500,000 to get the US green card, you have to rush now.