A New Year for the United States EB-5 Golden Visa

The year 2022 is expected to welcome positive news for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor program, the golden visa equivalent for investment immigration to the United States. Through the EB-5 program, foreign nationals such as residents of the Middle East have the opportunity to obtain U.S. Green Cards for themselves and their qualifying family members with an investment of $500,000 in a new commercial enterprise in the United States.

Since the inception of the EB-5 program in 1990, it has been one of the most popular amongst foreign nationals seeking to immigrate to the United States given both that a single investment of $500,000 provides Green Cards for the entire family, including the investor’s spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 and that the requirements of the program are less stringent compared to investment immigration programs of other first world countries. The program merely requires that the investment originate from lawful sources and that a minimum of 10 jobs be created for U.S. persons with the investment.

The EB-5 industry expects the program to undergo a number of changes in early 2022, with its reauthorization anticipated to occur by the end of February 2022. At the moment, the EB-5 industry is contemplating two legislative bills. One of the legislative bills is more favored by regional centers and other active players in the industry given that it contains positive protections for EB-5 investors.

The favored EB-5 bill will include grandfathering provisions so that existing investors are no longer adversely affected by future lapses in the EB-5 Regional Center program. Furthermore, investors can take advantage of a parole option, whereby if there has been no action taken by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on an investor’s EB-5 petition for over two years, the investor can obtain a work permit to live and work in the United States. The favored EB-5 bill contains incentives for USCIS to speed up their review. One such incentive will be an increase to the government filing fees from approximately $3,700 to $50,000. If USCIS has failed to review the petition within 24 months, the $50,000 fee will be returned to the investor. Furthermore, the favored EB-5 bill is likely to maintain the required capital investment at $500,000 for the initial one to two months, after which it will gradually increase by $100,000 increments on a yearly basis.

The unfavored EB-5 bill will automatically increase the required capital investment to $900,000. This means that new investors will not have the opportunity to take advantage of the lower ticket price. That said, existing investors will not be affected by the price increase as the bill will not apply retroactively.

With changes expected to occur soon, interested investors must act swiftly. “We are encouraging all prospective EB-5 applicants to be prepared so they can benefit from the lower ticket price as soon as the program is reauthorized,” says Shai Zamanian, Legal Director of The American Legal Center, a top immigration consulting firm in Dubai. “If you are interested in beginning your migration journey to the United States, contact our team for a complimentary consultation and assessment of your situation,” adds Zamanian.