Hike In US ‘Golden Visa’ Investment Limits

The US Congress last week extended the deadline for the EB5 visa to February 8 after the latest deadline expired on January 19.

Experts are in the view that there will be a hike in February 2018 in the investment limits under the EB5 visa scheme, popularly known as the “Golden Visa”. The deadline for the Golden Visa scheme has been extended by the US Congress last week till 8 February 2018. The last deadlines expired on 10 January 2018.

Introduced in 1990, the EB5 scheme allows foreign nationals to apply for a green card by investing in the US. The Golden Visa scheme allows every individual to invest $500,000 in either of two Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs) i.e. a high unemployment area in a US metropolis or a rural area outside of a metro
or
$1 million in a non-TEA area with the potential to generate 10 or more jobs and obtain the US citizenship in a shorter time compared to H1-B visa holders.

Recently, the EB5 visa has been turning out to be the shorter route to citizenship, in the context of stricter norms for H1-B visa issuance by the Trump.

According to Mark Davies, Global Chairman of Davies and Associates which also deals with EB5 applicants, the number of Indian clients his firm handled increased from 99 in 2014 to 238 in 2015 and over 330 in 2016. “I expect this to be 500-plus in 2017,” he said.

Davies explained that investors can apply for an EB5 visa in 2 ways, i.e. either through regional centres or outside of the regional centres. Regional centres hold licences and are authorised to implement projects under the EB5 visa scheme. Advantages that come with working with regional centres is that the jobs created under the project concerned can be counted.

“But on the flip side, there can be responsible or irresponsible regional centres, just as a person holding a driving licence can drive responsibly or irresponsibly”, Davies said

Davies pointed out that the current deadline is applicable only to those who seek an EB5 visa through regional centres. And the direct route is open forever.

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