This guide outlines the benefits an EB-5 visa offers that other visas do not.
When seeking to do business in the United States, many foreigners land upon the EB-5 visa as a guaranteed way to come to the United States and operate a business or investment. However, the EB-5 visa is one of the most complex, expensive visas to obtain, requiring an investment of upwards of 1 million USD.
But the EB-5 visa program isn’t the only visa that allows foreigners to conduct business in the United States. In this article, we’re going to take a look at the EB-5 visa and other visas for business purposes, and see how they differ.
EB-5 visa vs other visas: overview
You don’t need an EB-5 to own a business in the U.S. Yes, it’s true — but there are several caveats. In the U.S., practically anyone can form an LLC (Limited Liability Company), which is a type of business entity that is structured around either sole ownership, or joint-partnership between several individuals.
In order to form an LLC, you must have an SSN (Social Security Number), EIN (Employee Identification Number), and a U.S. address – which is the first hurdle to forming an LLC as a non-citizen, because you surely won’t have these.
In that situation, you can form an LLC as a joint-partnership with a U.S. citizen, while collecting profits in your own country. However, you won’t be able to visit the U.S. and inspect the workplace without a tourist or business visa.
There are several types of visas here to consider for the above scenario. They are:
- B-1 (for temporary business trips)
- B-2 (temporary visitor / tourist visa)
- E-1 (for conducting international trade)
- E-2 (for investing or setting up a business)
So if you want to own or invest in a business in America, while temporarily staying in the U.S. to develop it, then the E-2 visa is the best option.
However, if you only want to invest in a joint-partnership to do business in the U.S., without ever stepping foot in the country, then none of these are required – as long as your business partner is a U.S. citizen.
So what is actually the point of an EB-5 visa?
All of those mentioned visas above are considered temporary visas – they have limitations on the duration they’re valid for. The E-2 visa, for example, is valid for two years, but then it must be renewed.
The EB-5 visa, on the other hand, offers a pathway to permanent residence in the United States, and then, eventually, citizenship.
Furthermore, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program allows investors to include their spouse and unmarried children (below the age of 21) on the I-526 petition, which means your entire family would also qualify for permanent residence in the U.S.
Navigating the EB-5 process requires a lot of finesse and paperwork, which is why it’s best to contact an EB-5 attorney for a successful EB-5 application. As mentioned earlier, it’s one of the most complex and expensive visas to obtain, requiring a minimum investment of 1.8 million USD into an existing business that directly creates a minimum of 10 jobs for U.S. citizens, or an investment of $900,000 into a Targeted Employment Area (TEA).
Conclusion
So to answer the main question of this article, the main point of the EB-5 visa is to allow business investors to set up permanent residence in the United States not only for themselves, but for their entire family as well.
You don’t need an EB-5 visa to simply conduct business or even have ownership in a U.S. business, but the EB-5 is the best option for people who are investing in enterprise / corporate level businesses, and want to stay in the U.S.
