EB5 Visa Program

EB-5 Visa Classification:

At Azimi Immigration, we have worked on countless EB-5 Visa programs. We offer our own approved EB-5 projects to potential investors. Please contact us for your case evaluation to determine whether you are eligible to apply under the EB-5 Visa Program.

On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-103), which created new requirements for the EB-5 immigrant visa category and the Regional Center Program. Immigrant visas are authorized under the Regional Center Program through Sept. 30, 2027.

All EB-5 investors must invest in a new commercial enterprise that was established:

• After Nov. 29, 1990; or
• On or before Nov. 29, 1990, that was:
  • Purchased and the existing business is restructured or reorganized in such a way that a new commercial enterprise results; or
  • Expanded through the investment, resulting in at least a 40% increase in the net worth or number of employees.

A new commercial enterprise means any for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of lawful business, including:

• A sole proprietorship;
• Partnership (whether limited or general);
• Holding company and its wholly owned subsidiaries (provided that each subsidiary is engaged in a for-profit activity formed for the ongoing conduct of a lawful business);

• Joint venture;
• Corporation;
• Business trust;
• Limited liability company; or
• Other entity, which may be publicly or privately owned.

This definition does not include noncommercial activity, such as owning and operating a personal residence.

Job Creation Requirements

Capital Investment Requirements

Capital means cash and all real, personal, or mixed tangible assets owned and controlled by the immigrant investor. All capital will be valued at fair-market value in U.S. dollars.

Note: Immigrant investors must establish that they are the legal owner of the capital invested. Capital can include their promise to pay (a promissory note) in certain circumstances.

The minimum investment amounts by filing date and investment location are:

Future adjustments will be tied to inflation using the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) from March 15, 2022, to the date of adjustment. These adjustments will occur every five years, with the first such adjustment effective for petitions filed on or after Jan. 1, 2027.

A targeted employment area can be, at the time of investment, either:

• A rural area; or
• An area that has experienced high unemployment (defined as at least 150% of the national average unemployment rate).

A rural area is any area other than an area within a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) (as designated by the Office of Management and Budget) or within the outer boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more according to the most recent decennial census of the United States.

A high-unemployment area consists of the census tract or contiguous census tracts in which the new commercial enterprise is principally doing business, which may include any or all directly adjacent census tracts, if the weighted average unemployment for the specified area based on the labor force employment measure for each tract is 150% of the national unemployment average.

Regional center investors may choose to invest in a new commercial enterprise engaged in an infrastructure project. An infrastructure project is a capital investment project in a field or approved business plan, which is administered by a governmental entity (such as a Federal, State, or local agency or authority) that is the job-creating entity contracting with a regional center or new commercial enterprise to receive capital investment under the regional center program from alien investors or the new commercial enterprise as financing for maintaining, improving, or constructing a public works project