EB-5 Basics

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency’s EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is a vehicle to encourage foreign investment in US businesses and projects that support job growth and economic development.  The EB-5 Program was originally established in 1990, but despite great promise, few transactions were consummated for most of the Program’s life.  In the last few years, however, EB-5 has matured and emerged into a truly viable financing tool that is being used for major projects throughout the Country.  Last year alone, approximately $1 billion of foreign investment capital raised through the EB-5 Program was invested in projects throughout the US.  These projects include a wide variety of residential and commercial construction projects, infrastructure projects and energy-related investments.

Under the Program, the USCIS has set aside a fixed number of annual EB-5 immigration visas that are only accessible through the EB-5 Program.  In order to comply with the Program, individual foreign investors from all over the world make investments of at least $500,000 through Federally-approved Regional Centers, like our Atlantic City Regional Center.  The investment must be truly at risk and meet a number of other requirements, including the USCIS’s job-creation requirements.  By virtue of making these investments into projects sponsored by an approved Regional Center and having created the requisite number of US jobs, investors are then eligible to file for an EB-5 immigration visa.