The EB-5 program was designed to attract foreign capital into the risky sectors of the U.S. business. After the financial crisis that started in 2008, the program turned into almost the only source of investment potential. Now the EB-5 program is drawing attention of developers, regarding it as a way of implementing the idea of infrastructure development - construction of shopping centers, schools, clinics, etc.
The EB- 5 program provides the investor with the right to permanently reside in the United States - the right to obtain a green card - for the investor and and all the investor's family members (spouse (s) and children under 21 years). As compared to other categories of immigrant visas, EB-5 has the highest approval rate - 93% of cases.
The EB-5 program can be conveniently divided into two categories: a traditional program and a regional centers program.
The traditional program entails the investment of $1,000,000 in the U.S. economy and the active management of a business that leads to the creation 10 new jobs.
The regional centers program implies that developers accumulate foreign investments in a limited liability partnership for the purpose of implementing financial projects, which are to be approved by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. The minimum investment amount is $500,000. These funds are usually used to implement different projects in the regions with high unemployment. Today there are 173 approved regional centers in the U.S.
Recently, the EB-5 program has been very popular, though its successful implementation requires the assistance of trained professionals - lawyers, tax consultants and others.