About EB-5

EB5 or the Immigrant Investor Program is administered by the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) and was created in 1990 by the Congress to stimulate the growth of the U.S. economy and increase employment through foreign investment. A foreign applicant is required to invest $800,000.00 or $1,050,000 in an approved commercial business; creating ten (10) jobs to qualify for an EB5 based “Green Card”.

The U.S. market is highly attractive to Indian clients as it is by far the world’s largest consumer market1. An EB5 based “Green Card” enables the applicant to launch their business activities in the U.S., leading to an increased revenue and level of production in India. It facilitates the removal of “middle men”, direct selling to U.S. consumers and acquisition of a greater proportion of the margin that is available to them in their respective industries.

Many of our EB-5 clients have children studying in the U.S. and often these children are interested in gaining employment in the U.S. post-graduation. The H1-B program makes it difficult for them to obtain the necessary experience they are after, whereas with an EB-5 based “Green Card” they do not have to deal with any of the issues associated with obtaining a H1-B visa.

The United States is the world’s largest consumer market (see Answer 1, above). Indian businesses want to access the market directly as it allows them to retain the entire margin instead of giving away a significant proportion of that margin to US agents and distributors. The H1B or L visa holder is restricted to only working in the business that they petitioned for their visa. With the help of the EB-5 program an Indian HNI can either invest in their own U.S. business (“Direct EB5 Program”) or a Regional Center sponsored project and obtain a “Green Card” which provides them the right to freely operate any legal business of their choice in the U.S.