US reform plan to issue green cards to investors; Read the article

After nine months of investor and industry angst, the US investor visa program AmericaEB-5, which allows immigrants to apply for a green card, was reauthorized by the US Congress in March 2022. We have made important reforms that will bring more transparency to the visa program, which will receive applications from applicants from all over the world. Brazilians.

In the ranking of nationalities, the Brazil It ranks in the top five in terms of total EB-5 visas granted since 2016, and it ranks fourth in terms of the highest number of visas issued; Third place in 2017; And fifth in the last three years. The industry’s expectation is that after odd years due to the pandemic and the suspension of the program, interest in obtaining visas will resume on the part of Brazilians who want to live in the United States.

EB-5 guarantees permanent residency through job-creating investment in the US market Photo: George Krimberg

Used by high-net-worth individuals, EB-5 is a US federal program that allows qualified immigrants and their immediate family to obtain permanent residency in the country through investment that creates jobs in the US market.

There are two ways to apply for the program: direct investment or through the Regional Center. This second was created in 1993 to allow companies to pool together multiple investors to finance large projects. In these cases, candidates make an indirect contribution to a syndicated project. As of the June 2021 deadline, approximately 95% of EB-5 candidates chose to invest.

To start the application process, it is necessary to make the minimum contribution stipulated by law. With the reform, amounts for infrastructure projects or businesses located in areas of high unemployment – ​​Target Employment Areas (TEA) or rural areas – are now US$ 800,000; or US$ 1.050 million for businesses located in areas that do not meet these characteristics.

With the reauthorization, the industry quickly adapted to the new rules, and applicants paused their processes and immediately moved on. One of the most important points of the new law relates to greater protection for program applicants and greater control and auditing of regional centers. There is also protection to ensure that those who have already invested are not affected by future gaps, as well as a study to reduce the processing time of visa applications from two to three years to six months.