EB-5 Visas: Costs Nearly Double For Investors Seeking To Make U.S. Permanent Home

The Trump administration has made it costlier for investors seeking permanent residency in the U.S. in a fresh round of visa rule tightening for immigrants.

The investors seeking green cards will have to spend $1.8 million, up from $1 million earlier, under the EB-5 programs which was earlier $1 million, according a Final Rule of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The threshold has been increased the first time since 1990.

The minimum investment amount in the Targeted Employment Area—a shortlisted rural or high-unemployment region—will go up from $500,000 to $900,000.

The U.S. has already tightened rules for H-1B visas, used by highly skilled professionals such as software engineers sent to on-site locations by Indian IT companies. It has also started the process to ban H4 visas that allowed spouses and dependents of H-1B visa holders to work in the U.S.

Under the EB-5 visa programme, foreign individuals can apply for lawful permanent residence in the U.S. if they invest in a commercial enterprise will benefit the U.S. economy and create full-time employment for not fewer than 10 American workers.

“EB-5 has grown a bit in India since 2014-15. A lot of people are studying in the U.S. and want to gain permanency,” Vivek Tandon, founder and chief executive officer of EB-5 BRICS, a U.S.-based law firm. “Instead of $500,000, now they (investors) have to come up with $900,000 plus cost and fees. So, it has doubled which will lead to slowdown in EP-5 growth in India.”

Watch the video below to know how Indians investors seeking green cards will be affected by new EB-5 visa rules: