Copyright protected October 2011

As an immigration attorney, I have the fortune of working with wealthy clients.  These clients have worked hard and made a lot of money, and now they would like to come to the USA to retire.  Unfortunately, the USA does not have a retiree visa as other countries do.  Although these wealthy individuals do not want to work anymore, they do look for good investment opportunities in the USA.

From an immigration law perspective, the best option for these wealthy individuals is to pursue the EB-5 Job Creation visa program.  Under the EB-5 program, the investor makes an investment of either $500,000 or a million dollars, depending if the business is in an economically depressed area.  Also, the investment must yield 10 jobs for American workers.

Foreign investors have the option of doing an EB-5 on their own by either opening a new business or purchasing an existing business, in which case they are responsible for creating the 10 jobs directly related to the investment.  Another option is doing the EB-5 through a regional center.  Currently there are about 196 approved regional centers throughout the USA that range from the hotel industry to energy.  A regional center is a business venture in which investors either receive an ownership interest, or receive a return on the investment loan to the business venture.  Also, by investing in a regional center, the investor is a passive investor instead of being the main investor running the business.  So, the investor does not need to work in the business venture.

Once the case is filed and it is approved, the investors and their families receive conditional residencies for two years.  Before the two years expire, the investors must apply to remove the condition on their residencies by showing that the investments were actually made and the 10 jobs were actually created.  Once the removal of the condition is approved, the investors and their families receive legal permanent residencies without restrictions.

The EB-5 program is probably one of the most legally complex visa programs available in the USA.  The EB-5 program, however, gives investors great flexibility as to how to invest their hard earned money in the USA without having to work, and achieve their permanent residency through such investments. Although there are plenty of regional centers from which to choose to do an EB-5, not all are peak performers.  My job as your immigration attorney is to help you, guide you, the investors, in the process to pursue the EB-5 visa based on the investors’ wishes and needs.  Some investors want to work, and some do not, and I help investors to achieve either.  I work with the investors every step of the way.  If you are ready to invest in the USA, please contact me at (954) 450-1563 or audrey@gloverdichter.com.