If you have always wanted to start a business and live the American Dream, the EB5 visa can seem like the golden ticket to your dream life. And, for investors with the right resources, it is! But when it comes down to navigating the logistics of investing abroad and fulfilling the requirements needed to obtain a green card, the process gets all the more complicated.
Before you even know it, you’ll find yourself making one of the most decisive choices of the entire process: choosing between a direct and a regional center investment. While there is no simple answer to your dilemma, here are some advantages of direct EB5 investments worth considering.
How to Find an EB-5 Visa Project to Invest In
The EB5 visa – or the Fifth Employment-Based Preference – is an optimal pathway for investors, and their immediate family, to get a green card and become lawful permanent residents of the US.
The visa will require investors to invest a minimum of $1.8 million (or $900,000 in Targeted Employment Areas) and create and maintain at least 10 full-time jobs for qualified employees.
While it all sounds straightforward, in practice, the process can be lengthy and challenging. And, the first hurdle you’ll need to overcome is finding the right project to invest in. There are two main options for investors:
- EB5 regional centers investment – Today, there are 632 investor regional centers across the nation, which are USCIS-designated entities with the aim to sponsor EB5 projects. Investing in a regional center means investing in a commercial enterprise associated with these entities.
- Direct investment – making a direct EB-5 investment means bypassing the regional centers and starting a new business, purchasing an existing company, or buying equity in an enterprise.
Direct investments give you the operative and creative freedom to bring to life your own venture and invest in a real, operating business. However, eligibility requirements are more stringent, and you will be directly responsible for creating and maintaining 10 full-time jobs for qualified employees – not counting your family members!
Here are some of the unmissable benefits of this choice.
You Can Retain Better Control Over Your Business Venture – But You Can Choose to Passively Manage It
When investing in a regional center, you will have very limited control over your business’s operations. In some cases, your managerial power will be limited to sharing your vote in major decisions.
For investors who wish to have little involvement with the project while still securing a green card, this is the perfect option. However, if you are looking to be more involved with your business’s venture and …….
