Implode-o-Meter News - Green cards: Foreign investors seeking EB-5 visas to pay more ($900k, up from $500k)

The EB-5 visa, created in 1990 to stimulate the economy through job creation and capital investment, will under the new rules require a minimum investment of $900,000 instead of the current $500,000, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said. That minimum amount will be for investments in businesses in rural areas or regions of high unemployment. For investments in other areas, the minimum will be $1.8 million, compared to the current $1 million. Homeland Security had originally proposed a new minimum of $1.35 million.
The visa will still require creation of at least 10 full-time jobs but the new rule strips states of the ability to designate areas as rural or high-unemployment "Targeted Employment Areas" to qualify EB-5 applicants for the lower investment threshold. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will make all such designations, according to the new rules.
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An industry has emerged around the EB-5 program, with developers marketing projects to foreign citizens, Wexler said. But because an investor's main priority is almost always getting a green card, returns on the investments have typically been less than 3 percent, he said.

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Green cards: Foreign investors seeking EB-5 visas to pay more ($900k, up from $500k)