EB-5 program allow aliens to make an investment or establish their own business enterprise in the United States, while becoming a lawful permanent resident in the process. However, there is a set eligibility criteria that investors must fulfil if they wish to qualify under the EB-5 investment criteria.

Primary conditions for eligibility

To get the accredited investor status, as defined in the Regulation D under the Securities Act, an investor must meet a minimum of one condition mentioned below:

1. An individual with the net worth (or combined net worth with partner, if applicable) of $1,000,000 or more can qualify for EB-5 program.

2. Anyone whose individual income exceeds $200,000 or has a joint income of $300,000 with spouse for every year from the past two years and who rightly expects an income of more than $300,000 for the current year as well, can apply for immigration under the EB-5 program.

3. Anyone who can rightly be called an “accredited investor” according to the conditions or definition given for this term in the Regulation D as accepted by Securities and Exchange Commission are also eligible to apply under this program.

Apart from the given conditions, anyone who has the experience and knowledge in the business and financial matters along with the capability to evaluate the risks and merits of an investment in Units and thereby make a logical investment decision can also apply to migrate by qualifying the EB-5 program. These applicants do not need any purchaser representative.

Though these are the primary requirements, aspiring investors also need to fulfil several other requirements. Once the investor qualifies to become the candidate, the Partnership Agreement, Private Placement Memo and Subscription Agreement must be presented.

Some additional requirements

Aspiring investors also need to secure their own financial or legal counsel in order to explain and review the provisions of every document. A statement is signed by every investor, as a confirmation, that all documents have been received. The investor is required to sign all the documents along with a deposit of up to $550,000 in the escrow account and by naming the partnership as benefactor. Investors must also have an immigration attorney to help them in filing the application with USCIS (the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service)

The investor has to collect a lot many documents to be given to the immigration attorney in order to prepare the I-526 petition application. Income proof, tax returns, bank statements and several other documents are required to build I-526 petition. All documents related to business investment that are essential to sustain I-526 Petition, are required to be provided to the immigration attorney by the regional centre

Gathering documents and time taken in the preparation of I-526 petition is completely dependent on the investors and their attorneys’ cooperation. Usually, the duration for this is 6-8 weeks. I-526 Petition is submitted by the immigration attorney to USCIS (the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service). Except for the requests or inquiries for the required documents, the petition normally takes 6-8 weeks. Once your I-526 petition gets an approval, this petition is forwarded for advanced processing to the USCIS.

A pack of some documents is sent to the immigration legal counsel. The counsel along with providing some essential specific information, signs these documents. This pack provides steps that are required to be taken, before the interview is schedules for immigration visa at the U.S. Consulate.

In the end, investors and agents of regional center must comply completely with the Regulation S in the Securities and Exchange Act.

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