The US EB-5 visa program is a top-rated investment migration program that offers High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) a relatively simple and quick route to lawful permanent residence (LPR) in the USA.
The most developed country in the world offering unparalleled opportunities for businesspersons, students, and working professionals, the US has consistently ranked as one of the preferred immigration destinations for foreign nationals of developing as well as other developed countries.
Last Updated: April, 2025 History of the EB-5 Program
The Congress created the US EB-5 visa program through the Immigration Act of 1990 to boost economic development through foreign capital investment. Initially, only the direct investment option was available to EB-5 investors.
The introduction of the Immigrant Investor Pilot EB 5 Program or the Regional Center EB 5 program in 1992 created the option of qualifying for a LPR through Regional Center investments.
What is the US EB-5 Visa?
The EB-5 program requires the applicant to make an at-risk investment of $1.05 million and create at least ten full-time jobs for US citizens or lawful permanent residents. The minimum investment requirement comes down to $800,000 if one invests in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA—either a rural area or an urban area where unemployment is 150% or more than the national unemployment rate.
Foreign investors can invest directly in a new or troubled business in the US and create ten direct full-time jobs to qualify for the green card. Or they can invest through a Regional Center project, where they can count direct, indirect, and induced jobs to fulfill the job-creation requirement.
US EB-5 Visa Investment Choices
Unlike other investment immigration programs, the US EB-5 program does not offer the green card to those buying real estate in the US.
Instead, investors are required to make an at-risk investment, either directly or through the Regional Center program, in a commercial enterprise and create ten full-time jobs in the US to get lawful permanent residence and contribute to the country’s economic growth or economic development.
Last updated: April, 2025
Not sure how this fits your strategy?
A focused consultation to assess your objectives and shortlist the right options.
Eligibility and Minimum Investment Requirements
Key Requirements
Direct Investment
- Invest the required investment of $1.05 million/$800,000 directly into a new commercial enterprise or an existing troubled business in the US.
- Create ten full-time direct jobs or preserve existing jobs if investing in an existing business for a period of at least two years.
- Direct jobs must be proved by a headcount and payroll analysis as indirect or induced jobs are not considered for fulfilling the job-creation requirement.
- Preferred by those intending to participate in the day-to-day management of the business.
- Investor is free to invest in any commercial venture of their choice.
- I-526 approval depends on a strong business plan that clearly shows how the ten full-time jobs will be created.
- As a lawful permanent resident, investor can continue the business or shut it down after receiving the green card.
Regional Center Investment
- A Regional Center is a company licensed by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to collect money from multiple EB-5 investors.
- RCs aggregate the money and lend or invest it a business project in the US. A single RC may have multiple projects but the investor can invest in only one RC project to qualify under the EB 5 program.
- These projects tend to be related to real estate or construction due to ease of fulfilling the job-creation requirement. However, there is no formal restriction requiring money to be invested in such projects only.
- The RC project can count direct, indirect, and induced jobs for fulfilling the job-creation requirement.
- Job creation is assessed on basis of an economic spend model. An economic report forecasts the number of jobs that will be created when the entire investment of the project is deployed
- The jobs are deemed to be created depending on the total funds spent by the project.
- investors get credit for the jobs created and thus and qualify for the conditional green card.
- Investor can fulfill active management requirement by participating in policy oversight without any role in the day-to-day management of the project.
- Depending on project’s viability and successful outcome, investor may see capital repayment in around four to six years. However, such return of investment can never be guaranteed.
US EB-5 Visa 2025 Key Benefits
Qualify for Conditional Green Card Quickly
Getting permanent resident status can take around six to seven years through the EB-5 program. However, the EB 5 immigrant investor can qualify for the conditional green card, which offers the same benefits and privileges as the permanent green card, in just two to three years. This makes the EB-5 visa one of the fastest ways to get the US green card.
Include your Family
A single immigrant petition covers the EB 5 immigrant investor, spouse, and unmarried children below the age of 21 years. Further, you can sponsor your parents as well as your siblings for permanent residence after you become a US citizen. In this way, a single EB-5 visa can, effectively, cover your immediate family members.
An EB-5 investor can recover the $800,000 or $1.05 million investment by selecting and investing in a viable direct or Regional Centers project. You can get your money back in around five to six years in this visa program.
Work Anywhere in the US
With the conditional green card in your hand, the EB 5 immigrant investor and other eligible family members can work anywhere in the US for any employer, including self-employment, without any sponsorship or visa hassles. You can even lead a retired life in the US without worrying about your visa status in this visa program.
Study Anywhere in the US
With permanent resident status, you can study anywhere in the US and even qualify for in-state tuition fees. Your study privileges will be at par with that of a citizen and you can avoid all the restrictions imposed on foreign investors students studying in the US.
Easy Travel Outside the US
With the EB-5 visa in your hand, you can travel outside the US with minimal visa restrictions. You can live outside the US for up to one year, which can be increased to two years at a time if you apply for re-entry permit.
Qualify for Citizenship
You become eligible to apply for US citizenship after living in the US as a permanent resident for five years. You can utilize the power of the US passport and enjoy visa-free access to the UK, EU, and many other countries.
Application Process for Direct and Regional Centers Investments
1. Preliminary Documentation and Source of Funds Analysis
Before beginning the immigration process, you must carry out some preliminary steps including
- Comparing and selecting business options for direct investment or the right Regional Center projects for RC investments
- Comprehensive analysis of the Source of Funds to prove that the money that you are investing in the US to qualify for the EB-5 visa was legally earned and is completely legitimate.
- Basic documentation and other preparatory steps for filing the I-526/I-526E petition.
2. I-526/I-526E Filing
The first formal step of the EB-5 immigration process is to file your I-526 or I-526E petition. If you are a direct investor, you must file the I-526 petition. If you plan on investing in Regional Centers, then you must file the I-526E petition.
After the preliminary work, the next step is to file the EB-5 petition. It can take around 18-36 months for approval of the I-526/I-526E petition depending on whether you invest in a rural or high unemployment area.
Rural projects, direct as well as RC projects, qualify for priority processing under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) of 2022.
An applicant investing in a rural area may have the EB-5 petition approved in around 18-24 months. Petitions for high-unemployment urban areas may take more time and one may have to wait for 24-36 months for approval.
3. Consular Processing or Adjustment of Status
You become eligible to receive a two-year conditional green card after the approval of the petition. Once the petition is approved, the next immigration process will be applying for Consular Processing or Adjustment of Status depending on the applicant’s location.
3.1 If the investor has applied from outside the US, then the investor will have to apply for Consular Processing in his/her country of residence.
Consular Processing involves setting up the date for the visa interview, submitting civil documents for the investor and dependent family, attending the visa interview, completing other formalities like medical tests, and having the EB-5 visa stamped in your passport.
You must enter the US within six months of stamping and will then receive the conditional green cards via mail.
3.2 If you are in the US on a work permit or a student visa and have applied from within the US, then you must adjust status from non-immigrant to the immigrant visa.
Post the RIA, an EB-5 investor who is applying from the US can concurrently file for Adjustment of Status at the time of filing the EB-5 petition. The AOS petition will be adjudicated only after the approval of the EB-5 petition.
However, the pending AOS petition enables the applicant to simultaneously apply for an Employment Authorization Document (work permit) and Advance Parole (travel permit).
The EAD and the AP can get approved in around six months, which means an EB-5 investor applying from the US can get a work permit and travel permit within six months of filing the petition.
Once the AOS petition is approved, the status of the investor will change from non-immigrant to the EB-5 immigrant visa and the two years of conditional permanent residence will begin.
4. Removal of Conditions
Upon approval of the Immigrant investor program petition, the investor and dependent family members are issued a conditional green card valid for only two years.
This green card is conditional on the investor fulfilling two conditions:
- Making and sustaining an at-risk investment, and
- That your investment creates jobs for qualifying US workers.
Around 90 days before the end of the two years, the investor must file a Petition for Removal of Conditions. This petition must include proofs related to the maintenance of the at-risk investment, job creation, and compliance with all applicable laws.
Once the petition is filed, the conditional permanent residency will continue to get extended until the final adjudication of the Petition for Removal of Conditions.
Once this petition is approved, the investor becomes an unconditional green card holder and is issued a green card that is valid for ten years.
EB- 5 Investment Options
EB-5 Capital Steamboat Springs Marriott Hotels (JF40) - 50 EB-5 Units
A total of 50 EB-5 investor slots are available in the JF40 project for development of a dual-branded Marriott hotel—SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites— in Steamboat Springs.
The senior lender has closed the construction loan in this rural TEA project, which is located in one of the best destinations for skiing, biking, and other recreational activities in the USA. .
EB-5 Capital Charlotte Eagle Lake (JF42) - 68 EB-5 Units
Surrounded by the corporate HQs of Bank of America and Lowes,and 18 Fortune 1000 companies, the JF42 high-unemployment TEA project is a 280-unit Class A apartment complex in Charlotte, North Carolina. project portfolio.
The project has significant potential for job growth supported by strong economic indicators and investors have the added safety of the senior lender having already closed the construction loan.
Impact of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 on Foreign Investors
The RIA was a landmark law enacted in 2022 that placed the EB 5 green card program on a stable footing and introduced significant changes and improvements to the EB 5 program.
- Extension of the Regional Center EB 5 Program till September 2027
The law did away with the need for frequent re-authorizations of the Regional Centers EB 5 program by extending it for a period of five years till September 2027.
- Linking Investment Requirement to Inflation
Despite many changes to other employment based programs, qualifying investment requirements of the EB 5 program remained unchanged for multiple decades. The RIA settled this issue by linking the investment capital requirements to inflation and mandating revision of the same once in every five years.
- Set Asides
The RIA set aside 20%, 10%, and 2% of all EB-5 visas for rural, High Unemployment Urban Targeted Employment Areas, and infrastructure projects respectively. The set asides categories had no backlogs, which meant obtaining permanent residency for immigrant investors from backlogged countries like China and India became easier.
- Concurrent Filing of I-485 and EB-5 Petitions
The Act allowed those applying from inside the US to concurrently file for AOS along with the immigrant investors’ petition. This has made made the program more popular among foreign investors who are looking for a faster route to the green card by making a capital investment and boosting economic development in the US.
- Fixed Investment Sustainment Period
In the pre-RIA period, the EB5 immigrant investor had to sustain the investment till the end of the two-year period. In case of backlogs, this meant foreign nationals had to sustain the investment for many years to maintain their EB-5 immigration status. Now, the applicant needs to stay invested with project developers for a period of two years only.
- Tougher Regional Center Compliance Rules
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services was often criticized for not doing enough to protect the immigrant investor program from instances of frauds and rules violations. The RIA introduced tougher regional center compliance rules, including mandatory third-party audits and payment of an Integrity Fee.
Last Updated: April, 2025Process to United States Citizenship
Making a capital investment in the EB 5 program does not lead to direct citizenship. However, this does not mean one cannot become a US citizen through this immigrant investor program.
Once you qualify for permanent residency, you can become eligible to apply for citizenship after living in the US for a period of five years with at least thirty months of physical presence in the country.
You can choose to become a citizen or can continue to remain a permanent resident in the US as long as you have intent to reside here.
Apply for the USA EB-5 Visa with Lincoln Global Partners
Lincoln Global Partners, an international investment migration firm is ready to assist you every step of the way with your Investor Visa application in the USA.
EB-2 NIW Visa : Frequently asked Questions
Checkout our FAQ's or reach out to us directly via the contact form at the bottom of the page with further questions.What other eligibility requirements must foreign investors fulfill to qualify for lawful permanent residence?Apart from the capital investment requirement, either directly or in an investment project of approved regional centers,and creation of jobs, there are no other requirements related to language, age, education, or qualification that apply to EB-5 investors.
Of course, you have to fulfill general immigration requirements related to medical and criminal inadmissibility.
How do I identify approved Regional Centers?You can work with EB-5 professionals offering immigration services and investment assistance to identify the right RC project for you. The list of active and legal Regional Centers operating in the US immigrant investor program can be found on the official website of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Can I recover my invested capital?Yes. You can recover your investment.
There is no bar on recovery of the investment capital as long as you fulfill the at-risk investment and job-creation requirements. It is better to seek professional advice to improve your chances of identifying the right project offering high probability of qualifying for the green cards and recovery of the investment.
Do I need to do any tax planning on the foreign investments?You will become a US tax resident from the time you become a conditional permanent resident. It is advisable to work with a tax professional during the due diligence process to avoid complications.
How much will my application cost?Apart from the $800k investment, you may have to bear additional administrative fees of around $100,000 to $110,000. The administrative fees include filing fees of $12,160, immigration lawyer fees of around $20k to $25k and RC fund admin fees of around $60k to $80k.
There may be other costs depending on the forex remittance rules applicable in your country.
Can I use borrowed money to fund my investment?Yes. Loan proceeds can be used to fund the investment opportunities in a rural or high unemployment urban area as long as you can prove that the source of funds is completely legitimate.
You can use secured as well as unsecured loans to fund the investment. In case of a loan from another individual, he or she will have to share all the necessary proof related to the source of funds.
What are Expedited EB-5 projects?Each RC project must obtain USCIS approval, which is called the I-956F approval. Projects related to national security or national interest may qualify for expedited approval. Such expedited national security projects can get USCIS approval a lot faster than other RC projects.
It has been seen that investors in such expedited projects get faster approvals. However, investing in an expedited project does not guarantee faster processing.
Who is an Accredited Investor?US securities laws require the EB5 investor to be an accredited investor to be eligible to make the investment. You must either have an annual income exceeding $200,000 ($300,000 including spouse income) or net worth of $1 million or higher.
