Indian applications for US EB-5 visa on the rise; China tops with 90% share

According to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data, Indians are exhibiting increased interest in EB-5 visas for resettlement in the United States, The Economic Times (ET) reports. The trend is interesting given the recent job cuts and fears of recession in the US economy.

EB-5 visa is considered at par with holding a Green Card. To obtain an EB-5 visa, individuals have to invest a minimum of $800,000 in the US to create at least 10 job opportunities in the country.

It has been seen that Indians are collecting this amount to invest in real estate projects to fulfil this eligibility criterion, the report said.

The president of a company that helps people get EB-5 visas was quoted by ET as saying that we can take money from 20 investors, $80,000 each, and can then approach a developer who is building a $50 million dollar and lend him money to finance the project. This does not involve any purchase of real estate or employing people. It is rather a form of passive investment which pays interest.

According to the data, EB-5 visa applications surged from 756 in 2019 to 1,381 in 2022. This is the highest jump in visas filed in a single year, the report said.

In the year 2022, the US issued a total of 10,885 EB-5 visas and Indians were the second largest applicants after Chinese nationals. China accounts for 90 per cent of EB-5 visas.

Between 2016 and 2019, there has been a rise of 400 per cent in demand for EB-5 visas among Indians. However, the program was put on a halt during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The program is now operational again and is seeing great demand. Notably, changes were made to the program in 2022 which revised the investment amount from $500,000 to $800,000.

What is an EB-5 visa?

The US government created the employment-based fifth preference category or EB-5 immigrant investor visa program in 1990. It facilitated a method for eligible individuals to invest a substantial amount of money in the country to obtain lawful permanent citizenship in the USA.

The EB-5 visa requires a minimum investment of $1,050,000 in the US. However, if the investment is made in qualifying infrastructure projects or targeted employment area that creates 10 jobs in the country, the investment requirement is $800,000.