How an EB-5 visa can secure your financial future in uncertain economic times

How an EB-5 visa can secure your financial future in uncertain economic times

2018/08/28 4:19pm

Four Seasons One Dalton Hotel and Residences in Boston, Massachusetts. 

South Africans can unlock US benefits by investing R7.5m in Pathway’s residence-for-investment programme

Amid political instability and uncertainty, South African investors are seeking alternatives for their financial assets, and options to live outside the country so their families can benefit from better schools, tertiary institutions and public transport. This is why residence-for-investment programmes are looking more attractive.

The US EB-5 investor visa programme allows investors to obtain a green card for themselves and their immediate family by investing $500,000 (about R7.2m) into an approved project in the US.

Pathways is allowing financial contributions in Four Seasons One Dalton Hotel and Residences, located in Boston, Massachusetts, through the EB-5 investment programme, which boasts Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment Group as a backer.

Once completed, at 61 storeys, Four Seasons One Dalton Hotel and Residences will be the tallest residential tower in New England. 

There are 260 financiers from across the globe invested in this project, which is due to be finished by the second quarter of 2019. “$160m is raised through EB-5 investments and we currently have $130m and climbing daily, so there is still some room for more investors in our project,” says Jeff Campion, CEO of Pathways.

He adds: “EB-5 money will be a first lien on the hotel that is already under contract to be sold for $268m. In our view, it allows for the strongest form of collateral, while also presenting the greatest chance of receiving permanent residency.”

US citizenship benefits

Legal permanent residents under the EB-5 investor programme enjoy many of the same benefits as US citizens, including:

Free movement for family members: The visa extends to immediate family members (spouse and children) of the EB-5 investor – they can enter the US at any time and stay as long as they wish. Increased investment access: Investors also have constant and easy access to the US for personal, trade and business purposes. Access to internationally recognised colleges and universities for basic education and graduate study: Boston-based investors and their families will have access to the likes of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. “Boston is a hub for education and attracts the world’s best and brightest,” says Campion. The US also provides many financial, social and education entitlements, public schools, health and medical care options, social security and higher education.

Four Seasons One Dalton in the Boston skyline.

What is an EB-5 investment?

The EB-5 programme has stringent requirements, which is why it is so important to collaborate with a partner that is intimately familiar with it. Managed by Pathways, the programme affords high-net-worth individuals the opportunity to become US citizens by investing in US-based businesses to create jobs (at least 10 jobs for US citizens). Investors need to commit $500,000, which will be returned in full, at the end of the loan period.

Pathways is encouraging investors who are considering the option of EB-5 not to delay on the decision as the minimum investment is expected to increase to $1.35m (about R19m) in the next two to six months.

“There is further volatility and unpredictability ahead when it comes to the future of SA, but America’s EB-5 programme could provide you with the security that you and your family are searching for and some investment certainty for your money,” says Campion.