For those that are new to the EB-5, this is one way for foriegn nationals to petition the USCIS for permanent residency by starting a business or acquiring an existing business. However, there are several rules/limitations to the Eb-5 which limits the practicality of this option for most. For instance, the business is required to create 10 qualified jobs in the United States within 2 years and requires an investment of $500K - $1M depending on the location and industry that the new business will be involved with.

Read more about the EB-5 - Immigration Through Investment before reading the rest of this story.

Traditionally, EB-5 category has not seen much demand due to these restrictions. However, recently, perhaps due to the unreasonable wait time associated with other Employment Based forms of acquiring permanent residency (EB2 and EB3), there has been a significant increase in the demand for EB-5 visa numbers.

USCIS released a new memorandum on June 17th clarifying some of the requirements on the EB-5 visa on what exactly the “2 year period means”. This memorandum also clarifies the meaning of a full-time position as it relates to job creation. Read the memorandum here - EB-5 memorandum June 17, 2009

The memorandum does not really make it any easier for people to apply for EB-5’s. Immigrant organizations and several supporting Senators have long thought that the requirements on the EB-5 need to be relaxed to foster an environment of entrepreneurship and growth in the country - much needed in today’s economy where the only thing that separates the US from other nations is the ability to innovate. Curbing the ability of immigrants that carry a healthy spirit of entrepreneurship overall as demonstrated by the number of startups that involve immigrants, has the exact opposite effect.

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