US EB-5 Green Card

No, to date there are no language requirements to apply to the EB-5 investor visa program.

No. There is no minimum age restrictions for the EB-5 investor program except that the investor must be at least 18 years old, enter into legally binding contracts, and obtain conditional permanent residency and citizenship.

The transfer of your capital is made once the legal team has completed the compilation of your I-526E application and immediately prior to its submission with USCIS. The confirmation of your transfer will be included in your application. However, Step Global, a registered immigration and visa consultant in Dubai, may ask for partial financing and payment plans for our clients depending on the project. This provides investors the flexibility to enter the application queue immediately with a deposit while continuing to fund the total investment in installments over time through a payment plan.

EB-5 investments must be considered at risk for the duration of the investor’s two-year conditional resident status (us green card), and they will receive their funds back. Should any or all parts of your investment be returned, it can only happen after the sustainment period and/or I-829 petition is filed to ensure to the US government that your funds remain invested. The terms of repayment should be specified in writing within the project offering documents and legal contracts signed between the Regional Centers, developers, and investors at the time of the initial investment.

If your application I-526 petition is denied, the capital investment that was placed in the U.S. escrow account will be returned to you within a commercially reasonable period of time. The terms of return on capital investment should be specified in writing within the project offering documents and legal contracts signed between the regional centers, developers, and investors at the time of the initial investment. Any sponsorship, legal, and consulting fees will be deemed non-refundable upon payment.

Yes, a student who is obtaining an EB-5 green card and becoming a U.S. permanent resident is considered a domestic student and thus pays significantly less for college and university tuition than international students. For instance, undergraduate residents at the top public university in 2022 – the University of California – Los Angeles – paid approximately $13,268 in annual tuition, compared to approximately $43,022 for international students. This means that you can save approximately $30,000 on a yearly basis per child. A student holding a U.S. green card and willing to obtain a master’s degree will save up to $150,000 within five years. This benefit is especially helpful for families who choose to send multiple children to the US for post-secondary education or children who are obtaining multiple degrees.

Yes, you can travel in and out of the US while the EB-5 application is in the pending process if you have a valid visitor visa. Once your I-526 petition is approved and a conditional green card is issued, you can live in the US while awaiting the approval of your I-829 petition for you to become a US permanent resident.

As of March 15, 2022, the US government also introduced the concept of adjustment of status (AOS) Concurrent filing for EB-5 applicants. This means that those already in the US on any legal visa status can apply to adjust their status from within the US while waiting for their EB-5 application to be processed. Along with this submission, they can submit for an employment authorization card and travel document. Within months, the applicant will have the ability to legally live and work in the US without employer sponsorship while they wait for their EB-5 green card application to be processed and their visa to be obtained.

Yes, EB-5 investors with pending I-829 petitions may apply for U.S. citizenship if they meet all other requirements. In order to apply for US citizenship, you must stay in the US for two and a half years out of five years as a permanent resident/green card holder. This is easy for students who are already studying in the US.

Dubai residents may choose to invest in the US EB-5 Investor Visa route if they’re looking to migrate to the United States to access new job opportunities. Many Dubai Residents also apply to the EB-5 Investor visa to unlock educational benefits for their children studying in the United States such as lower tuition fees, access to scholarships and limited program spots, and overcome job limitations during education. The EB-5 Visa Program also allows F-1 international students who have graduated from a US university and were unable to secure an H1-B visa to remain in the US and work without the need for employer sponsorship.

Yes, you can immigrate to the US without a job offer by applying to the U.S. EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is a citizenship-by-investment program that requires a minimum investment of USD 800,000 (refundable after a few years) in exchange for a green card.

The minimum investment amount for EB-5 is $800,000 USD in targeted employment areas (TEA) and rural areas. The minimum investment amount for EB-5 in all other areas is $1.05 million USD.

The EB-5 Visa is not reliant on professional background and skills in order for an applicant to qualify as is similar for all other employment-based green cards.

Instead, with the EB-5 visa and investor simply needs to make an investment of the minimum amount in order to qualify. 

The EB-5 visa relies on job creation rather than the employment status of the investor.

The EB-5 visa program is beneficial because it is currently the fastest, easiest, and most predictable path to permanent residency and citizenship in the United States. In addition, the program has become more secure for investors following the Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, offering protections like grandfathering of applications to avoid any retroactive effects from future changes in legislation, and more scrutiny on projects and regional centers.

The risk with the EB-5 Program is that USCIS does not allow for any guarantees for return of funds under the program. Therefore, it is imperative that investors do proper due diligence on the projects they wish to invest in and the Regional Centers through which these projects are being sponsored before making any type of financial investment.