PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte recently announced severing military and economic ties with the U.S. He has also recently assailed the U.S.’s strict visa policy. As President Duterte aligns himself with China, Russia, Vietnam, and other foreign powers, he is consistently evading any viable relationship with the U.S. Thus, it’s now more important than ever to ensure that Filipinos and their families still have access to live and work in the U.S. One way for Filipino families to immigrate to the U.S. is through the EB-5 Green Card Program.
Under the EB-5 Program, Filipinos can apply for a green card through investment in an existing or new business in the United States and creation of 10 permanent, full-time jobs. The spouses and unmarried children under 21 of the investor are also eligible for green cards. Once approved, the investor and his family receive a conditional 2-year green card which can later be converted to a full-fledged green card.
Most EB-5 investors invest in regional center investments. A regional center investment is best suited for an investor who would rather participate in the policy-making activities of the business, instead of managing the day-to-day activities of the business. The benefit of a regional center investment is that regional centers are permitted to use economic models to count jobs. Thus, regional centers can solicit several to hundreds of EB-5 investors for their EB-5 projects, and the regional center is usually the one actually managing the project. It’s a good option for investors who are currently living abroad.
The EB-5 program continues to be popular with Asian countries (such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Korea) because families want to move to the U.S. and provide green cards for their children. For Filipinos, the EB-5 program is a great option because there are currently no wait times for Filipino nationals.
For Filipino nationals, once the petition is approved, they can immediately begin the process to obtain for their 2-year conditional green card, which takes approximately 6 months. 90 days before the 2-year conditional green card expires, the EB-5 investor and his family can file their full-fledged green card. Each of these steps is complicated, requires extensive paperwork, and necessitates the guidance of an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney.