Immigrant visas are available to qualified individuals, their spouse and unmarried children seeking permanent resident status on the basis of their engagement in a new commercial enterprise in the U.S. 10,000 visas are made available annually for this category. To be eligible, an alien must have invested or are actively in the process of investing the required amount of capital into a new commercial enterprise that they have established. They must further demonstrate that this investment will benefit the United States economy and create the requisite number of full-time jobs for qualified persons within the United States. In general, “eligible individuals” include those:
- Who establish a new commercial enterprise by:
- creating an original business
- purchasing an existing business and simultaneously or subsequently restructuring or reorganizing the business such that a new commercial enterprise results
- expanding an existing business by 140 percent of the pre-investment number of jobs or net worth, or retaining all existing jobs in a troubled business thathas lost 20 percent of its net worth over the past 12 to 24 months.
- Who have invested or who are actively in the process of investing in a new commercial enterprise:
- at least $1,000,000.00 or
- at least $500,000.00 where the investment is being made in a “target employment area” which is an area that has experienced unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average rate or a rural area as designated by Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
- Whose engagement in a new commercial enterprise will benefit the United States economy and:
- create full-time employment for not fewer than 10 qualified individuals or
- maintain the number of existing employees at no less than the pre-investment level for a period of at least two years, where the capital investment is being made in a “troubled business,” which is a business that has been in existence for at least two years and that has lost 20 percent of its net worth over the past 12 to 24 months.
Contact the LAW OFFICE of EBERE N. EKECHUKWU & ASSOCIATES, P.C. today at 312-362-9844 and we can help you. If you are considering investing in the U.S., contact us so that we can explain the law and process fully to you and assist you in putting together the necessary paperwork and navigating the application and green card process.