What is the EB-5?
The EB-5 is a programme that allows foreign investors (and their families) to apply for US green cards if they invest in a commercial enterprise in the US and create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for US citizens.
Set up in 1990 to create jobs and encourage foreign investment, the EB-5 programme requires investors to invest a minimum of USD1 million [or USD500,000 – if the money is invested in a high unemployment or rural area, also known as a targeted employment area (TEA)].
According to the Department of Homeland Security, about 97% of all EB-5 investments are targeted at TEAs – which carries the reduced amount of USD500,000.
However, the US has put a cap on how many EB-5 visas are granted each year – which currently stands at 10,000. This includes family members of investors. According to a report by the Congressional Research Service – a public policy research arm of the US Congress – about one-third of these visas go to the investors while the rest are given to their family members (spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age).