eb5exclusive

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, foreign nationals can now choose among 83 enterprises certified as EB-5 regional centers as targets for an investment that could award them an investor visa.

By investing in one of these regional centers under the EB-5 visa program, foreigners looking to immigrate to the U.S. may be granted permanent residency within just two years, if they invest at least $500,000 in a targeted venture project and help create at least 10 U.S. jobs.

As with any business maneuver, and especially those in which large sums of money are at stake, investors are likely to look for a promising distinction between the 83 available EB-5 regional centers in order to get the most out of their investment.

Consider the business sense of your investment

First, potential applicants may want to reflect on the financial gains they could garner from an EB-5 investment opportunity. Like with any other investment, financiers of EB-5 regional center projects should assess the business sense of a transaction, develop a professional rapport with the site’s managers, and clarify the direction and sustainability of a project.

Existing EB-5 regional centers, and those currently under consideration for regional center status, include projects aimed at the commercial development of an area, the construction of plants to build hybrid cars and the expansion of a Vermont ski resort to expand tourism in the area.

Investors should keep in mind that green cards are only issued to applicants whose investment can directly, or indirectly, create at least 10 jobs in the local economy, giving the financiers a vested interest in the project’s success.

Decide on a geographic location

According to the Nevada Regional Economic Development Center, those who invest in an EB-5 regional center are not required to live in the locus of their investment. However, depending on the level of involvement the foreign shareholder wishes to take in the targeted venture, he or she may decide that a close proximity to the project would be prudent.

For this reason, investors may choose a site based more on their desired living conditions than the actual enterprise they target.

For example, Twin Development, a regional center based in Washington state, has had success courting potential Korean investors on a proposal to construct a 45-story condo in Federal Way, noting the large Korean-American population in the area.