Greater demand for the US EB-5 Golden Visa

Greater demand for the US EB-5 Golden Visa

2022/12/09 10:41am

The EB-5 program allows families to obtain lawful permanent residency status in the United States allowing them to freely live, work, and travel in the country.

Demand for the United States EB-5 golden visa is heating up among ex-pat families in the United Arab Emirates and neighboring Gulf countries. The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program provides the fastest route for families to pursue the American dream by way of an $800,000 investment in the U.S. 

The EB-5 program, which was created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors, has witnessed drastic changes in recent months.

The reforms, implemented earlier this year by virtue of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA), positively affect foreign investors given heightened transparency and greater security of investment. Consequently, there has been a surge in demand for the U.S. golden visa.

What is the EB-5 program?

The EB-5 program allows families to obtain lawful permanent residency status in the United States allowing them to freely live, work, and travel in the country. A family must invest $800,000 in a government-pre-approved real estate project in the United States to qualify for the immigration benefit. The main applicant, their spouse, and children under the age of 21 all receive their own U.S. Green Cards. The investment of $800,000 is returned to the family after approximately five years. 

The U.S. golden visa provides a stable path to obtaining U.S. citizenship and passports. A family must reside in the United States for a minimum of two and a half years in a five-year period following receipt of their Green Card to be eligible for U.S. passports.

Now is the time to apply

Positive reforms to the program have encouraged interested families to act now and file their EB-5 applications before any further legislative changes are made to the program. Other motivating factors include taking advantage of the lower ticket price of $800,000 and avoiding a price increase as well as being first in line and avoiding additional wait times. 

“Over the past several months, we have witnessed a rise in the number of interested families reaching out to us about the EB-5 program,” says Shai Zamanian, Legal Director of The American Legal Center in Dubai. Shai has over 12 years of experience and insight into the EB-5 industry and has assisted hundreds of families to apply for their U.S. Green Cards through investment. “Prior to the passage of the RIA, there was a short window of opportunity in which applicants could file for their EB-5 golden visas at $500,000. Previous to that, we consistently disseminated this information to educate the market about the price increase and urged interested applicants to have their applications ready to benefit from the lower investment threshold,” says Shai. “Those fortunate families that took our advice are now in line to receive their Green Cards.”

With their insight and expert understanding of the EB-5 industry, The American Legal Center is once again urging interested families to act swiftly in gathering their documents. “The benefits of applying now are twofold. The first is that an eventual price increase is evident given that the RIA tied the investment price to inflation. The second is with the introduction of new EB-5 visa categories. there are currently no additional wait times for any nationalities,” says Shai.

The RIA introduced a new visa category to the EB-5 program called reserved visa set-asides. The latest reports from the Department of State show that the three visa set-aside categories (rural areas, high unemployment areas, and infrastructure projects) are current, meaning that there are no pending backlogs. This is great news for Indian nationals interested in filing their EB-5 applications as they can have their files adjudicated without any additional wait times.

While the latest reports show that the new categories are currently available, with the recent eruption of protests in China due to restrictive lockdown measures, demand for the U.S. golden visa among Chinese nationals has skyrocketed. Therefore, GCC ex-pats, especially those of Indian nationality, must act quickly in taking advantage of these new categories before they experience any backlogs due to high demand from China.

How to apply?

The American Legal Center in Dubai is the leading immigration consultancy firm in the GCC region with its headquarters in Dubai. This firm is laser-focused on the EB-5 program and has its team of U.S. licensed lawyers and professionals ready and able to assist ex-pat families in the region in filing their EB-5 applications. 

If you are ready to begin your migration journey to the United States, the next right step is for you to contact The American Legal Center today. At the initial complimentary consultation, the team will prescribe a preliminary set of documents required to pre-qualify your file. The team will analyze your documents to determine if you are the right candidate for the U.S. golden visa. They will swiftly guide you throughout the EB-5 process.