The very popular option of receiving a green card for investments, the EB-5 program, paused from July 1, 2021. To begin with, the main news of June regarding this program was a court decision. On June 22, 2021, the Federal Judge ruled that the changes made to the program in November 2019 to increase the amount of investment and determine the Target Area of Employment (TEA) were illegitimate.
Thus, it was hoped that the EB-5 program would return under the conditions to a minimum of $500 000 instead of $900 000. However, the current program of regional centers was valid until June 30, 2021 and was not extended. Amendments were discussed in the Senate, but in the end, they have not yet been adopted.
Recall the key conditions of the benefits of the EB-5 program. The investor chooses a project for investment among authorized, draws up an application with the assistance of lawyers, and then waits for a decision on it, often for years. However, there is always a demand for this program. Apex Capital Partners has successful cases for issuing this visa for customers.
So, why do investors choose an EB-5 program? Because a visa like EB-5 is immigration. That is, subject to other conditions, you can ultimately obtain US citizenship.
An investor who receives EB-5 has the right to choose the state to invest in business and residence. There are no requirements for permanent residence to maintain the status, but the investor must come to the United States at least 1 time a year. There are also no requirements for the level of English, the presence of business experience, and the level of education.
The EB-5 program has been extended regularly since 1992. But there were also technical pauses, as now, from July 1, the EB-5 program with an option to invest in regional centers does not work. It remains to wait until the senators “take time off” the holidays and make a decision. What it will be – it is impossible to guess. However, you can decide to issue a business non-immigration visa type E-2. This is much faster than EB-5 and the costs are much less.
However, unfortunately, citizens of the Russian Federation cannot file for E-2 due to the lack of a signed agreement with the United States on this topic. However, citizens of Montenegro and Grenada (Caribbean) can. Please note that Montenegro’s investment citizenship program runs only until the end of 2021!
