Applying for a Green Card through investment in the United States is known as EB-5 green card program.

 

There are two types of EB-5:

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First: Indirect Investment:

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This involves investing in a business project managed by an investment sponsor approved by USCIS (known as a Regional Center). Most investor immigration cases follow this method.​​

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Second: Direct Investment:

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This involves the investor directly starting and managing their own business. The challenge with direct investment is the requirement to create 10 jobs.

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Minimum Investment Amount:

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If investing in a high-unemployment area, the minimum investment is $800,000. In other areas, the required investment is $1,050,000.

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Investment Recovery:

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Recovery of the investment can generally be expected about 7 to 8 years after the investment. (Theoretically, it can be recovered in 5 years, but due to delays in USCIS processing, that is practically impossible.)

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Procedure:

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The investor immigration process varies depending on where the investor resides.

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• If residing in outside the U.S.: The initial petition (I-526 stage) must first be approved. As of 2024, the approval process for the petition takes over 4 years. After the petition is approved, it takes about 6 more months to receive an immigrant visa and come to the United States. Therefore, it will take at least 4.5 years from the start of the process to arrive in the U.S. (Processing times can vary based on USCIS.

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• If already residing in the United States with some type of non-immigrant visa: You can stay in the U.S. from the time you submit the initial petition (as long as the immigrant visa is available) until the decision on your Green Card approval is made. This allows you to start living in the U.S. about 4.5 years earlier compared to those who process their application from abroad. (The total time to become a permanent resident is similar in either case.)

 

For those who want to reside in the U.S. quickly, it is advisable to come to the U.S. first and then submit the investment immigration documents. For example, one could come to the U.S. on a student visa or E2 visa and then submit the investment immigration documents while residing in the U.S. If you enter the U.S. without a visa (ESTA), you cannot submit investment immigration documents within the U.S.

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