Green Card and U.S. Citizenship for Real Estate Investors – The EB-5 Visa Explained 

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, established by the U.S. Congress in 1990, offers foreign investors a pathway to obtain U.S. permanent residency (a Green Card) by making a qualifying investment in a new commercial enterprise that creates jobs for American workers. 

Its reasonable investment levels, a wide range of eligible investment options, simple application process, and access to the American market have made the EB-5 a favorite among investors from various backgrounds around the world.  

One sector that has seen a noticeable rise in interest and participation in recent years is real estate. The growing level of attention among foreign investors considering their options in the U.S. real estate market based on the EB-5 visa was the background for a recent Joorney video podcast, Green Card and U.S. Citizenship for Real Estate Investors – EB-5 Visa Explained.  

It was the perfect opportunity to focus specifically on investors interested in getting into the U.S. real estate market and how they can qualify for the EB-5 as a way to make it happen.  

To help guide us and answer questions related to the topic, we were joined by Carolyn Lee, an immigration professional with extensive experience in all aspects of the EB-5 visa. With her help, we set off on an exploration of the visa category itself, why investors are interested in the U.S. real estate market, the application process involved, and much more.  

You can watch the entire presentation at the link below or read some of the highlights of the conversation.  

Here are some of the key takeaways from Green Card and U.S. Citizenship for Real Estate Investors – EB-5 Visa Explained: 

The Basics of the EB-5 Visa 

The conversation started with some background on the EB-5 visa itself, regardless of the plans of the investor applying for it, and Carolyn summed it up nicely right at the start.  

“The EB-5 visa is a path to permanent residency; it’s a green card path,” she explained.  “And it is premised on investment in a U.S. enterprise, a U.S. business that will create at least ten full-time jobs for U.S. workers. And the investment has to be made by the individual investor from lawful sources.” 

She also explained the primary benefits that attract applicants to the EB-5.  

“At the end of the day the greatest benefit is U.S. permanent residency. So, this is the golden ring that attracts investors to the EB-5 program. And thanks to the recent changes brought by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, there are incredible interim benefits as well, meaning benefits that the investor can avail him or herself of even before becoming a U.S. permanent resident or green card holder. And one of these benefits is the concurrent adjustment of status filing. And what that means is that the green card application itself can be filed concurrently or at the same time as the EB-5 classification petition is filed, which then allows the investor and family members, including spouses, to apply for work and travel authorization at the same time.” 

Minimum Investment Levels 

The EB-5 visa has certain minimum investment requirements that must be met to satisfy eligibility requirements. Again, Carolyn’s explanation was right on point.  

“The minimum EB-5 investment is 800,000 US, and the base EB-5 investment level is 1.05 million. What determines whether you’re at the $800,000 level or the $1.05 million level depends on the location of the enterprise and whether the location of that real estate project or the enterprise is in a targeted employment area.” 

Targeted employment areas play a key role in the job-creation purpose of the EB-5 visa.  

“A targeted employment area is an area that’s defined as high unemployment or rural. In the regional center side of the equation, there’s also one other category that’s not dependent on location and it’s dependent on the project type, which is infrastructure. And so for projects that meet any of those three criteria – being located in high unemployment, being located in a rural area, or being an infrastructure project – those all qualify at the lower investment threshold of 800,000.” 

Why Do EB-5 Visa Applications Get Denied? 

On the subject of visa denials, Carolyn shared her experience when it comes to the common reasons behind them.  

“The common reasons that USCIS (American immigration authorities) can say no are typically related to project eligibility. We don’t have the statistics on denial rates or denials by reason, which would be nice to have, but I can tell you, having done this for twenty years, I’ve seen denials for many reasons.” 

Some of those reasons result from a failure to present a consistent picture of the investment in question, she says.  

“There are investor-related issues, like the source of their funds,” she explains. “Let’s imagine that a story is not told in a way that makes sense and where there are also inconsistencies which introduce doubt.” 

“(Immigration authorities) have to look at things with a skeptical eye, and if there are things in the file that raise other questions and doubts, that is problematic. Addressing these issues head-on will maximize the chances for a winning case, identifying where the potential flaws might be and managing them.” 

How Long Do EB-5 Applications Take to Process? 

It’s a common question, but that doesn’t make it any easier to answer. Carolyn shares the way she explains it to her clients: 

“It is a multi-year process, and that is not going to change,” she begins. “There are three steps in the process. The first two can be taken together with the concurrent filing if the investor is in the U.S. and meets the eligibility requirements for adjustment. And then there’s a third step, which I don’t think we’ve touched on yet, which is the petition to remove conditions on the U.S. residency.” 

“So the U.S. residency that the EB-5 investor and their family members get is a conditional permanent residency; it’s initially valid only for two years. Toward the end of that two-year period, the investor has to make this third filing and show that they deserve to have these conditions lifted because they’ve kept their investment and created jobs, so please lift the conditions.” 

So, how long does all this take? 

“It can be anywhere from one to two years for step one, another year for step two, and then two years of conditional residency. And then, you file your petition to remove the conditions. So that’s really a minimum of four years. And then it could be much longer because it depends on factors beyond our human control.” 

Carolyn says she understands when clients ask how long it may take because they’re trying to plan their futures and investments, but she admits to being “embarrassed” because “we cannot tell them with any reliable certitude how long this process is going to take.” 

The Role of a Business Plan 

As with every business immigration visa, a solid business plan is an essential part of the application package. Carolyn shared her own experiences on what makes a good business plan.  

“It has got to be compelling,” she says. “It has got to make sense. It’s got to have market studies. It’s got to have feasibility studies. It’s got to have a SWOT analysis, it’s got to have a company description, it’s got to have permits if they’re applicable, it’s got to have contracts, it’s got to have all of these elements. But at the end of it, it’s all got to tell a story that somebody reading this, most importantly, the examiner reading this has got to be able to picture this and understand ‘What is this business?’ ‘What are they going to do?’ ‘How is it positioned for success defined by the 10 required jobs at the end of the day?'” 

“That’s the difference between an excellent business plan and one that just checks the boxes.” 

These are just some of the takeaways you’ll find in the full version of Green Card and U.S. Citizenship for Real Estate Investors – EB-5 Visa Explained with special guest Carolyn Lee. Watch the full recording of the webinar on Joorney’s YouTube channel. 

Reach out to us today if you need an EB-5 business plan.