Investment Visa Program

Special Immigration Law

A relatively recent, but important and helpful law, enacted by the United States Congress and implemented by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), has created a much easier way for internationals who are citizens of other countries to receive a U.S. Permanent Resident Visa -- a "green card" -- providing legal residency in America. The law (the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the Immigration Act ) provides special visa and immigration privileges for internationals willing to invest in certain U.S. business enterprises, creating employment for Americans. Thus, not only are immigrant investors given priority treatment in the visa application process, but they are able to enjoy ownership of part of an American business. The Investment Visa Program provides the help you need to meet the requirements of this law. It is an effective, successful, guaranteed way to obtain a permanent U.S. visa with a minimum burden on internationals.

The law -- including its amendments, regulations and interpretive letters and adjudications -- allows for conditional U.S. residency (and for later removal of the condition) for international investors. It applies to an international person who invests $1,000,000 (or, under certain circumstances, $500,000) in a new commercial enterprise that provides employment for at least 10 U.S. full-time workers and who manages the business on a day-to-day basis or through policy formation. The Investment Visa Program simplifies all the requirements for you.

But, if you want to understand the key features of the law, they are outlined here for your information:

• Visa applicant must establish a new commercial enterprise
  • "Commercial enterprise" includes a broad spectrum of business relationships, including holding companies and their wholly-owned subsidiaries, provided they are all for-profit business operations
  • A new commercial enterprise includes:
    • Creation of an original business
    • Purchase of an existing business and its simultaneous or subsequent restructuring or reorganization so that a new commercial enterprise results
    • Expansion of an existing business so that its net worth or employees increases by at least 40%
• Investments (all capital is valued in U.S. dollars)
  • Investor invests or is actively in the process of investing capital of $1,000,000, or
  • Investor invests or is in the process of investing $500,000 if the investment is in a federally-targeted employment area
  • Investment can be cash, equipment, inventory, other tangible property, cash equivalents and indebtedness secured by assets owned by the entrepreneur, provided he or she is personally and primarily liable and that the assets of the new commercial enterprise and that the assets of the enterprise are not used to secure any indebtedness
  • Investments can come from funds in joint account owned by beneficiary and spouse
  • Multiple investors are permitted (including non-qualifying ones, such as U.S. citizens), but to qualify, each investor must independently meet the capital and employment requirements (all full-time employee positions may be credited to the qualifying investors)
  • Immigrant investors may invest through U.S. federally-designated Regional Centers that would relax the direct job creation requirements
• Must create full-time employment for at least 10 U.S. workers, other than the applicant or his or her immediate family
  • Independent contractors are not considered employees
  • Employment must be full-time (at least 35 hours per week)
  • "U.S. workers" may include U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, conditional residents, temporary residents, asylees, refugees and those whose deportation has been suspended, but does not include members of the investor's family
• Management -- limited partnership agreements must provide investor with rights. powers and duties under the Unified Limited Partnership Act; for limited partnerships that are a fund investing in unrelated companies, the investor's management is related to the fund and not to the companies
• Conditional status is similar to that for marriages and can be removed after two years; within 90 days of the second anniversary of the issuance of the visa, investor must petition for removal of the condition
• Evidence is required regarding the enterprise, the investment, creation of jobs, management of the business, the Target Employment Area and the lawful source of assets
• Application process -- priority date is established at filing; application is to be submitted to the Service Center having jurisdiction over the area of the enterprise