EB-5 Investor Visas

Boston Lawyers Assisting Foreign Nationals with Seeking Legal Status in the U.S.

When foreign nationals want to obtain lawful permanent residency in the United States through an investment, they can pursue an EB-5 visa. This type of status is reserved for people who are engaged in a new commercial business venture in the U.S. From our Boston offices, the business immigration attorneys at Maiona Ward can guide foreign nationals through the EB-5 immigrant investor visa process. If you are contemplating this type of visa, we can walk you through the steps and help you understand whether it suits your needs and goals.

How to Pursue an EB-5 Visa

The EB-5 visa was created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the American economy through job creation and investment by foreign nationals. Each year, a total of 10,000 immigrant visas are available to qualifying foreign investors. Each EB-5 investor is required to invest in a new commercial enterprise, which is defined as any for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of a legal business, including a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a holding company, a joint venture, a corporation, or another type of publicly or privately owned business entity.

An EB-5 investor visa grants the applicant and his or her dependents conditional permanent residency in the United States for a two-year time frame. In order to qualify for the EB-5, the applicant must meet the following criteria:

• The applicant must invest $1,000,000, or at least $500,000 in a “targeted employment area,” which means an area of high unemployment or a rural area; and
• The investment must create or sustain at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers, not including the investor and his or her immediate family.

The first step to in applying for an EB-5 visa is filing an I-526 Petition. After the form is filed, the time that it takes for the applicant to pass the U.S. interview and obtain his or her conditional green card can vary. There is a significant amount of paperwork that must be correctly completed and submitted along with an I-526 Petition, including the applicant’s passport, employment and business records, financial statements, any criminal history, and more.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines whether the investor qualifies for the EB-5. If the application is approved, a conditional green card for the term of two years is given to the applicant. One year and nine months after the conditional green card is issued to the applicant, he or she has three months to show that the required funds have been invested and that the 10 full-time jobs have been created or sustained. At this point a request to remove the conditions on the residence is filed with USCIS in order to obtain lawful permanent residency.

Consult an Immigration Attorney in the Boston Area

We understand that deciding to come to the U.S. permanently is a big decision for foreign nationals and their families. If your dream is to invest in a business and live in this country, we can help you pursue that goal through an EB-5 visa. Our Boston lawyers have helped numerous individuals seeking business visas as well as family visas or other forms of legal status in the U.S. We proudly serve clients from Rhode Island and Providence as well as Massachusetts. We are part of a large network of firms that assists foreign nationals all over the world. For more information, call us at 617-695-2220 or contact us online.

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