eb5exclusive

Though the distribution of green cards in exchange for investment in American business has been an obscure program to most immigrating foreign nationals, the current economic downturn has created conditions that spurred the number of EB-5 visas issued to triple in the past year.

Though 10,000 EB-5 visas are available each year, only 867 were granted in 2007, according to the Wall Street Journal. However, an economic climate in which companies are seeking a novel source of financing has made investment opportunities more available and attractive to some immigrants, resulting in the granting of 4,218 EB-5 visas in 2009.

To assist in both driving the demand and managing the increased supply of EB-5s, government-backed consultants have become available to match investors with American companies, NPR reports.

Ron Drinkard, director of the Alabama Center for Foreign Investment told the news source, “To qualify [for investment], a company needs to show loss of a minimum of 20 percent of its net worth in the past 12 to 24 months.”

He added, “There’s virtually not a company out there that couldn’t show that right now.”

A $1 million investment in a business is required to be eligible for an EB-5 visa anywhere in the U.S., while a $500,000 investment is needed in areas where the unemployment rate exceeds the national average by 150 percent.