$500,000 To $1,300,000: EB-5 US Visa Programme May Cost You More Soon

As more and more well-to-do Indians look to migrate to the US through the EB-5 visa program, the Trump administration signed a bill into law extending the EB-5 Regional Center Program through September 30, 2017. The White House is also looking into ramping up the minimum investment required to be eligible for this visa, according to reports. Popularly known as the "Golden Visa," the EB-5 visa requires the applicant to make a one-time investment of a minimum of $500,000 into a new US business that creates 10 or more American jobs, per visa. 

With increased White House scrutiny over H1-B visas, wealthy Indians are increasingly looking to the EB-5 visa as a route to get the coveted US green card.

However as demand for the golden visa increases, White House officials have voiced demands to raise the minimum investment limit. According to Davies & Associates, LLC, a US investor visa firm serving India, that America's immigration regulator US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has demanded increasing the required investment for a EB-5 visa from $500,000 to over $1,300,000."

Every week, on average, three Indians are signing up to shell out half-a-million dollars each to become part of the EB-5 program.

According to USCIS, the EB-5 program was created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. The EB-5 visa program would allow foreigners, who invest between $500,000 and $1 million in qualified projects in the U.S., to apply for permanent resident status for themselves and their families.

While the EB-5 visa was not popular initially, after the 2008 financial crisis, the program has seen massive interest from Chinese millionaires. Chinese citizens currently account for 85 per cent of the 10,000 EB-5 visas awarded every year.