IndiaPost.com - Green cards through investment

(Continued from last week's article)

The procedure for filing an EB-5 Investor Green Card petition is relatively straightforward. The investor must present evidence that traces the funds through bank transfers and other documentation, from the investor directly to the enterprise.

The money can be the investors own funds or in the form of a loan or gift, which would allow a parent to gift a son or daughter. After the investor completes a thorough business and financial due diligence analysis of the viability of the Regional Center business opportunity, the investment is made and a petition is filed by the foreign investor with CIS, requiring CIS to approve that the applicant and the investment are eligible for EB-5 status, which takes an average of 5-6 months.

If the investor is already in the U.S., he or she then applies for a Green Card through CIS. No interview customarily is required, and approval for most cases has been taking approximately 9 months.

If the investor resides abroad, an application for the Green Card is generally made at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the investor's home country, where an interview is necessary. Approval of the Green Card in this case takes on average also about 12 months. In either of the above two scenarios, in most Regional Center cases, the entire process generally takes about 14-18 months.

This is the situation for most applicants based on the current CIS and State Department Consular processing times, however times may vary depending on the circumstances of each case. Once CIS approves the investor's Green Card, it is conditional for a period of two years. Conditional Green Card status confers the same rights as the permanent Green Card.

Between 21-24 months after the conditional Green Card has been approved, the investor must reconfirm that the investment has been made or is still in place and that the employment requirement has been fulfilled or maintained.

An application to remove the conditional Green Card status is then filed with CIS. Once the condition has been removed, a full Green Card is granted for permanent resident status. From the time of application for the conditional Green Card until approval of the removal of condition usually takes about 4 years.

Thereafter, in an approved Regional Center case, depending on the terms of their agreement, the investment may be sold, and the investor will still maintain the permanent Green Card.

In summary, freedom to live anywhere in the United States, a passive form of investment with no required direct management responsibilities, priority standing within the Immigration process, and an accelerated path to Green Card procurement - all are important factors which make the little-known EB-5 Green Card Regional Center category an ideal investment vehicle for the inactive investor or retiree who wishes to live and work in the United States.

As with other U.S. Immigration visas, applicants also need to take into account U.S. and foreign tax and other business and personal planning considerations.