Speaker 1: So, investors continue to come to the United States. And in this video, I want to give you a 2023 update about the EB-5 investor visa program in case you or somebody you know may be interested to come to the United States through investment. Lots of changes, but the program is still alive and kicking. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Immigration channel. This is where we explain complex immigration matters in short, simple videos. And in this video, I want to give you an overview of the EB-5 immigrant investor program, the most recent updates as it's applicable in 2023. Before we do that, if you're here for the first time, don't forget to subscribe to our channel. Click the notification bell so you don't miss any of our videos. And also, give us a big like. YouTube will be able to share this video with more people just like you. As you know, by watching my videos, coming to the United States is not easy. And we talk about so many ways how people can immigrate and move to the United States. But one of those ways is the EB-5 immigrant visa. This is a unique opportunity that has been available in the United States since the early 90s. In a nutshell, under some of the new requirements under the EB-5 program, an investor must invest at least $800,000 in a targeted employment area. This investment is required at least to create 10 jobs for US citizens. The ultimate result of an EB-5 is a green card, just like any other green card. You go through a conditional process, you get a green card for two years. And eventually, once you remove those conditions, you get a green card for 10 years. Only 10,000 EB-5 visas are issued every single year. The EB-5 program was initiated by the United States Congress and is currently operated and run by the USCIS, the Immigration Service. The EB-5 essentially has two verticals. You can invest directly in your own project. And it depends if your project is in a targeted employment area, you have to invest at least $800,000. And if it's not in a targeted employment area, you have to invest 1.05 million in a direct EB-5, which is your project. You can also opt to invest in the regional center, which is the most common way how a lot of the EB-5 investors are investing. And this is a government-approved project, which essentially connects developers and investors and operates these regional centers. And if you want to invest in a regional center, the investment is only 800,000. So, what are the requirements to qualify for the EB-5 investor visa? If you go for a direct investment, you should be able to invest at least 1.05 million in your own project. If you invest in a targeted employment area, the amount of investment is now 800,000. And finally, it's really important that you're going to be able to show what is the source of your investment. Any money that is not able to be verified will not be accepted by the US government. Let's break down the two different routes that you can actually get an EB-5 visa. Number one, let's talk about the regional centers. Regional centers are economic growth centers. And regional centers are typically approved by the US government. They actually have to apply and be vetted by USCIS to meet all the requirements to be able to take money from investors. The purpose of these regional centers is to stimulate the economy in targeted employment areas. Typically, when investors invest in regional centers, they give the money to those projects. And it doesn't matter where the project is, the investor can reside anywhere in the United States, and you have no involvement in their project. At the end of the day, your application, once submitted with USCIS, you're going to get a green card for two years. It's a conditional green card. And after two years, you have to file another application to remove the conditions on your green card. The money has to stay in the project all this time. And in the end, once you get your green card, the project can release your funds, and you essentially get all your money back. Remember that 95% of all EB-5 investors are filing their cases to regional centers, and only 5% are processing them as direct investment. It just shows you how popular these regional centers are, and how efficient that processing is. Because investors, at the end of the day, they want their money back, and they want to get their green cards. The option number two is direct investment, where you establish your own business, either it's in a targeted employment area or not. And you have to guarantee the creation of 10 jobs of US citizens. These are much more complicated and may take longer. And the risk is that if USCIS is not happy with all the requirements, and you're trying to get this investment done, you're not going to get your green card, and the process will take forever. Some of the changes that happened in the program is that in the past, the investment amount was only half a million into a regional center and a million into a non-regional center investment. Under the changes, they've raised the amount, and now it's $800,000 in a targeted employment area, as well as investing in the regional center. So, what are the first steps in the EB-5 process? If you're going with the regional center, you have to identify a regional center that you want to work with, you have to show the proof of your funds, and you have to start the process by providing all the documents to the regional center. Once you finish your document processing, you can file Form I-526 with all the supporting information with the USCIS. Current processing times of these forms is about 35 months to 50 months. It's taken a really long time. And the Immigration Service is really working hard to try to speed this up. But for the moment, be prepared to wait for a while to get your I-526 approved. Once your I-526 is approved, you're able to get your conditional green card and be able to live in the United States for two years. After the two years, you have to file a removal of conditions on Form I-829. And after you remove those conditions, and the case is approved, you'll be able to get your green card for 10 years. Now, under some recent changes in the law, if you are inside the United States, let's say, as a student or a work visa, you're able to file for your EB-5, I-526, including the adjustment of status at the same time. This will allow these investors that are waiting for 30 to 50 months to live in the United States with a work authorization, with a travel document, go back and forth, and essentially start your life in the United States instead of waiting for years overseas, or trying to find another status to be in the United States. This is a welcome change. And a lot of investors are taking advantage of that. Bottom line is that the EB-5 is an amazing opportunity for those individuals that can afford this. It's a good opportunity because you know that if you're working with a regional center, most likely, your cases will be approved, and you'll be able to get a green card at the end of the day. So, if you have no other options, you don't have a job offer, you're not married to a US citizen, you don't have any special skills, but you do have the funds, EB-5 is an amazing program, and the government is going to continue to support it because they want more investors to come to the United States, create jobs, and help this economy move forward. And if you are interested in the EB-5, all you have to do is send me a text, 619-483-4549. I'm here to help you. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in our next video.