EB5 visa has been the most popular immigration by investment program in the world. However, the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) has announed that they will be increasing the EB5 investment amount.
Many investors are still attracted to USA’s huge market opportunities and the excellent educational institutions for their children. The demand for the visa is so high that residents from China, India and Vietnam are now facing longer wait times.
With effect from 21st November 2019, USCIS will be increasing the EB5 investment amount from $500,000 to $900,000 for projects that are in the targeted employment area (TEA). And the investment amount for non TEA will be raised from $1,000,000 to $1,800,000. Only 10,000 EB5 visas are granted each year.
Many industry experts had predicted this change of investment amount for quite a while as USCIS has not raised the investment amount for almost 20 years. In reality, the new amount US$900k is actually quite reasonable as compared with other countries like UK or Ireland. UK’s tier 1 investor visa cost £2 million and the Irish’s IIP investor visa costs €1 million.
After the changes in investment amount
With this increase of this EB5 investment amount, we are predicting an avalache of applications coming in before the dateline. There will be a slowdown in the number investors applying after the dateline. Perhaps it will take a couple of years for investors to get used to the new amount and start applying again.
For investors who are sitting on the fence, this may be the perfect time to get into the program before the new changes takes place. Do contact us if you want to find out more information on the US EB5 program. We are green card holders ourselves and would be glad to share our experiences with you.
