India Booming
as Emerging
EB-5 Market
The need for quality education, challenges
of visa backlogs and a desire to live in
United States are driving forces behind
India’s increased EB-5 participation.
Come join EB5 Investors Magazine at its
inaugural 2017 Mumbai EB-5 & Investment
Immigration Expo in October.
By EB5 Investors Magazine Staff
E
B-5 visas issued to Indian immigrants have increased
nearly 30-fold since 2005, according to the U.S. State
Department, positioning the market as an increasingly
attractive opportunity for regional center projects. In
2005, just five EB-5 visas were issued or adjustments
of status made. By 2016, the latest year for which data
are available, that figure jumped to 149. There is no
doubt that the market has expanded, said William Cook,
Managing Member of Global Migration Law Group, PLLC,
in Washington, D.C.
“With H1-B reform and backlogs for EB-2 and 3, and a
lessening of other options, Indians regardless of where
they live are becoming aware of EB-5 as an option for
them,” said Cook, who served as general counsel of
the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service under
George H.W. Bush. Global Migration Law Group, PLLC,
specializes in immigration law, representing foreign
investors. According to figures compiled by Invest in the
USA (IIUSA), the industry trade association for the EB-5
regional center program, the United States saw $28.5
million in EB-5 foreign direct investment from India in
2014, the latest year for which data are available. Jeff
DeCicco, CEO of CanAm Investor Services, LLC, expects
that figure to climb to between $100 million and $150
million in 2017. CanAm Enterprises has seven regional
centers across the U.S. and has raised more than $2.4
billion in EB-5 capital since 2002.
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