The proposed 170 percent steep rise in the investment required to get Green Card under EB-5 visa has surprised many aspirants in Qatar who are looking to get permanent residence in the US.
The proposal has triggered rise in the enquiries from Qatar to apply for such visa before the proposal becomes a reality and investment amount goes through the roof.
The Department of Homeland Security, US, in the mid of last month, proposed increasing the minimum investment amount required for the EB-5 programme to $1.35m from $500,000 currently in a ‘targeted employment area’.
Investment through this programme has always generated interest among investors in Qatar. According to consultants, around $50m was invested from the country under the programme in the last two years.
The proposal to increase the investment amount is likely to come into effect in March this year, giving a limited time to avail benefit of low investment.
Green card under EB-5 programme would be unaffected by the recent measures announced by US President Donald Trump on the entry of people of other nationalities in US.
“We have been making interested investors aware of this possible change for quite some time but the 170 percent increase was a surprise,” Jorawar Singh, a leading EB-5 expert and Managing Director of Stratix Consultants told The Peninsula.
“We have seen a huge increase in clients interested in making application before the price increase, but with this new announcement I would expect more clients that were waiting for the right time to escalate their investment timetable before this potentially huge increase takes place.”
Under the EB-5 programme, individuals are eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence and get a Green Card for him or her and their immediate family members if they make the necessary investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States and create or, in certain circumstances, preservew 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified US workers.
“Changes have been proposed through other avenues before and not implemented but this is the first formal proposal by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services,” said Dan Wycklendt, Executive Vice President and FirstPathway Partners.
The newly released proposal is likely to come into effect in March this year, giving a limited time to avail benefit of low investment.
Consultants like Stratix and other are already fielding calls from an influx of investors that do not want to risk missing the window for a green card before these changes take place.
“Our investors are smart, they know that now is the time to invest in the US and get a green card for their children, before the price goes through the roof,” said Wycklendt.
According to consultants, most of candidates apply under EB-5 programme to get green card for themselves and family members.
Stratix and FirstPathway have been working together for years but have recently been promoting a new investment opportunity in a JW Marriott Hotel in Southern California.