Investors Creating U.S. Employment in High Unemployment Areas – EB-5 (b) Immigration Lawyers
Located in Los Angeles, California, the immigration law firm of Swanson & Swanson has experience handling employment based immigration matters, including immigrants seeking to create employment in the United States in high unemployment areas.
For additional information about our team or the benefits of retaining our services, please visit those pages or contact us.
To speak to a knowledgeable immigration attorney about employment based immigration matters, including immigrants seeking to create employment in the United States in high unemployment areas, or to discuss your particular situation, call 310-694-5914.
Investors Creating Employment in High Unemployment Areas – EB-5 (b)
EB-5 (b) is basically the same as EB-5 (a), except that it is reserved for individuals who make a capital investment valued at a half million dollars in a commercial enterprise which will or does employ at least 10 United States citizens or residents and is in a "targeted employment area," which is an area that has experienced unemployment of at least 150 per cent of the national average rate or a rural area as designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
As with EB-5 (a), capital may be comprised of the following: cash or its equivalent, equipment, inventory, or indebtedness for which the investor is personally and primarily liable for and secured by investor owned assets not a part of the investment.
A commercial enterprise is any for profit activity be it in the form of a sole proprietorship, partnership, holding company, joint venture, corporation, business trust, or other entity provided the enterprise has been or will be established in a high unemployment area and in one of the following three manners:
- As a "new enterprise", established after November 26, 1990 by the investor;
- As a "purchased pre-existing enterprise" reorganized or restructured into a new enterprise; or
- By "investing in a pre-existing enterprise" and expanding so that the net worth or number of employees equals or exceeds 140 percent of the pre-expansion figures.
The "required number of qualifying employees" for all commercial enterprises other than a troubled business is 10 or more full time employees per alien investor comprised of U.S. workers legally entitled to be employed. For a "troubled business" the number must be maintained at no less than the number of existing employees at the time of the investment.
A troubled business is a pre-existing enterprise of at least two years duration, which has incurred a net loss during one of the last 2 years immediately preceding the date an application for investor immigrant classification is filed; provided the net loss is no less than 20 percent of the business's net worth prior to the loss.
Permanent resident status as an investor is two tiered. The investor is initially granted "conditional" resident status for a period of two years. At the end of the two years, the investment is reviewed by the Immigration Service to verify that the underlying facts and circumstances relied upon for issuance of the conditional resident status were in fact true, that the investment continues to exist, has been maintained for the past two years in at least as viable condition as it was initially, and continues to be so maintained. If upon review the Immigration Service is satisfied as to the elements, the condition is removed and the alien investor is granted "permanent" resident status.
Immigrant preference classifications of this character entitles the investor to immigrate in the order of the date the petition is filed (the priority date) and as soon as an immigrant visa is available. Immigrant visa availability is a function of the number of visas available in any given year, the number of petitions already on file for the particular preference classification, and the country of birth of the alien and or his spouse.
For additional information about employment based immigration, including EB-5 (b) green cards for immigrants seeking to create employment in the United States in high unemployment areas, or to discuss your immigration and naturalization matter with an experienced U.S. immigration attorney, please contact us. We have helped generations of families, and we want to help you.
