THE HUMAN ELEMENT OF EB-5 IMMIGRATION FOR CHINESE INVESTORS
By Matthew Khalili
Investments, petitions, forms and reports: when it comes to the topic of the EB-5 program, discussions around it tend to be a little on the impersonal side. Of course, if there’ s one organization that likes to analyze things from a strictly technical standpoint, it’ s U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The agency’ s EB-5 immigration officers spend their days poring over business plans and I-526 petitions, critically analyzing these documents with a mental fine-tooth comb.
s a result, many of us often forget that there’ s a man or
A woman behind that application— a man or woman with dreams and aspirations of coming to America, and a man or woman whose very real family is oftentimes stuck in applications limbo as they patiently await the decision on their fate from the USCIS.
I spoke with some Chinese EB-5 applicants and learned first-hand about the non-financial considerations that affected their decision to apply for an EB-5 visa and the process itself.
History
The EB-5 program was enacted by Congress through the Immigration Act of 1990. The goal was to generate a steady inflow of foreign capital and create jobs for U. S. workers, but early on, the program struggled to attract foreign investors.
In 1992, Congress introduced the EB-5 Pilot Program, which allowed EB-5 visa-seekers the opportunity to invest the required $ 1 million( or $ 500,000 in Targeted Employment Areas) through pre-approved regional centers. This eased job-creation objectives— no longer did foreign investors have to directly create 10 jobs. They only had to create 10 direct and / or indirect jobs. Despite this, the EB-5 visa remained relatively unpopular among Chinese and other investors( in 2004, just 16 EB-5 visas were granted to Chinese nationals 1) and over the next two decades, program requirements were continuously eased by Congress in the hopes of boosting interest.
The measures began to work and the number of I-526 immigrant petitions received by the USCIS began growing steadily in 2010. A major milestone in the program was reached just recently when, for the first time ever, demand surpassed supply. The number of EB-5 visas issued each year is capped at 10,000; in 2014, 10,923 applications were submitted.
“ Canada had a similar program that was very popular among Chinese nationals,” explains Jeffrey, an immigration attorney based in Los Angeles.“ Those who could demonstrate a net worth of CAD $ 1.6 million( USD $ 1.5 million in 2014) and invested $ 800,000 in the form of
1: U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee Schedule, 81 Fed. Reg. 205( Oct. 24, 2016). Federal Register: The Daily Journal of the United States. See https:// www. gpo. gov / fdsys / pkg / FR-2016-10-24 / pdf / 2016-25328. pdf.
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