Immigrant investor EB-5 green card visas are for investors and entrepreneurs investing a minimum of $1 million or, in a targeted employment area, a minimum of $500,000 in an enterprise that will create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers within two years. The EB-5 visa program allows foreign nationals to invest in United States businesses in exchange for priority processing of their green card applications. Individuals are eligible to apply for permanent residence in the US if they make the required investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States and create or preserve 10 full-time jobs for qualified United States workers.
New changes to the EB-5 green card become effective on November 21, 2019:
1. Priority Date Retention:
This will allow investors to keep their place in line in the application process if they have to change their qualifying investment due to circumstances beyond their control
2. Increases to the Investment Amounts:
An increase from $1 million to $1.8 million for standard investments and an increase from $500,000 to $1 million for investments in a targeted employment area (TEA)
3. TEA Designations:
A shift in the authority for making TEA designations from states to DHS
4. Removal of Conditions:
Clarification of rules regarding an investor’s derivative family members
Immigrants are an integral part of the Illinois workforce in a range of occupations. Immigrant entrepreneurs in Illinois generate billions of dollars in business revenue:
• 119,404 immigrant business owners accounted for 21.3% of all self-employed Illinois residents in 2015 and generated more than $2.5 billion in business income.
• In 2015, immigrants accounted for 20.3% of business owners in the Chicago/Naperville/Joliet metropolitan area (which stretches from Wisconsin to Indiana through Illinois) and 6.5% of business owners in the St. Louis metro area (which straddles Illinois and Missouri).
If you have a question about immigration investment or an EB-5 Green Card, contact the Mario Godoy and the immigration attorneys at Godoy Law Office in Chicago, Illinois.
