EB-5 Green Card

A comprehensive guide to EB-5 investment immigration
Meeting

EB-5 visa requirements enforced by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

The USCIS manages the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. EB-5 visas, also known as Fifth Preference Work visas, are Immigrant visas. This means that EB-5 visa applicants are granted a Green Card.

The Green Card allows them to live and work in the United States permanently. EB-5 Green Card applicants can also bring their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21.

A troubled enterprise

An enterprise that has been in existence for at least two years and has incurred net losses during the 12- or 24-month period preceding the priority date shown on the foreign investor’s Form I-526.

The losses for this period must be at least 20 percent of the net worth of the business before the loss. For purposes of determining whether the troubled business has been in existence for two years.

Successors in interest to the business will be considered to have been in business for the same period of time as the business to which they are successors.

A qualified employee

A U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or other immigrant authorized to work in the United States. The person may be a conditional resident, an asylee, a refugee, or a person residing in the United States under suspension of deportation.

This definition does not include an immigrant investor, his or her spouse, sons or daughters, or any foreign national in any nonimmigrant status (such as an H-1B visa holder) or who is not authorized to work in the United States.

Full-time employment

Employment of a qualified employee by the new commercial enterprise in a position requiring a minimum of 35 hours of work per week.

In the case of the Regional Center Pilot Program, “full-time employment” also means employment of a qualified employee in a position that has been indirectly created and requires a minimum of 35 hours of work per week.

An employment sharing agreement

Is one in which two or more qualified employees share a full-time position that will count as full-time employment provided the required weekly hours are completed.

This definition does not include combinations of part-time or full-time equivalent positions if even when combined, these positions comply with the hours per week required.

Not all jobs qualify

Jobs that are intermittent, temporary, seasonal, or transient in nature and do not qualify as full-time jobs.

However, jobs that are expected to last at least two years are generally not considered intermittent, temporary, seasonal, or transient in nature.