Immigration by Investment

            Immigration by Investment is a great opportunity for anyone that wants to become a United States citizen and has the financial resources to do so.  Immigration by investment is accomplished with an EB-5 visa.   There are rules that must be followed in order to guarantee that citizenship is not at risk.  It is important that every applicant understand exactly what is going on with their investment.  Not only is it possible that they might lose their money, it is also possible that they can lose their United States citizenship.

            While not necessary, many people have made their immigration investments using a “Regional Center”.  It is important to understand that even though the United States government has approved each regional center’s business plan, the United States does not guarantee that the plan will be followed.  After a potential immigrant investor has made their investment and files their citizenship application with the United States, the United States evaluates whether or not the plan has been followed and whether or not the investment has met the requirements for the citizenship to be granted.

            The rules are not complicated.  There are a small number of rules.  One would think that with so much at stake anyone involved would be very careful and would not take any chances or take any risks that would jeopardize citizenship.  Still, applications are rejected.   In fact, a regional center in Victorville, California recently had their status as a regional center revoked.  Many other regional centers have not lost their certification, but have had investors’ applications rejected.

            The requirements to get United States citizenship using an EB-5 visa are an investment of $1,000,000 and creation of 10 jobs.  The requirement of $1,000,000 can be cut in half if the investment is either located in a rural area or an area that is economically disadvantaged.  The rules for reducing the amount of the required investment are straightforward.  An investor can safely take advantage of the lessened capital requirement as long as the investor is careful to follow the rules.

            If an investor uses a regional center for their investment then the rules for creating 10 jobs is somewhat modified.  Typically, it is necessary to actually hire 10 employees and directly create those jobs.  However, a regional center may take advantage of a provision in the law which allows jobs to be “indirectly” created.   Instead of directly hiring 10 individuals a regional center can receive credit for other companies employees that are employed as a result of the business.

            It is important for investors to be careful that a regional center is careful and conservative when using “indirect” job creation.  It can be tempting to try to save money or try to get a higher return on investment by using less employees.  However, regional centers need to be careful not to risk an investor’s citizenship by trying to make or save a relatively small amount of money.