Overview
Several countries have developed immigrant investor programs, which offer permanent residency visas or green cards to qualified investors. The most prominent countries that have developed such programs are Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In a regional center, the job creation requirements are more flexible and investment opportunities can be made via limited partnerships each with a number of immigrant investors. Provided that the investment is maintained and achieves the job requirements of the EB-5 Program, "unconditional" or permanent green cards will be issued after two years.
Advantages of the EB-5 Program
The U.S. immigrant investor program is the most flexible in the world. The U.S. has no requirements as to age, business training and experience, or language skills. Permanent residents need not be continuously and physically present in the United States, and they can maintain business and professional relations in their country of origin.
The U.S. immigrant investment program also allows investors a great deal of freedom because it does not require immigrant investors to manage their investment on a daily basis, but rather, to 'actively engage' in a business enterprise, meaning they can be limited partners and pursue other professional or personal ventures.
Moreover, should the investor and his or her family elect to become U.S. citizens, the time spent as conditional permanent residents is credited towards the five year lawful permanent residency requirement for U.S. citizenship. As a permanent resident, the investor and his or her family are free to return to their homeland for visits or business purposes, as long as a residence is maintained in the United States.
Benefits of the EB-5 Investor Visa
Upon receipt of conditional permanent resident status, the investor's family (spouse and children under the age of 21 at time of application) are entitled to the same benefits as other lawful permanent residents. Some of these benefits include:
- Living and working anywhere in the U.S.
- No employment authorization to accept employment
- Ability to develop and run your own business
- Sponsor green cards for your relatives
- Travel outside of the United States and return to the United States without a visa
- Education benefits of permanent residents such as admission to state universities at resident costs
- Become a U.S. citizen once you have been a permanent resident for more than five years
Program History
The U.S. immigrant investor program, which grants an EB-5 investor visa, was introduced in 1990 and attracted a relatively small number of immigrants. In 1993, the U.S. government modified its 1990 immigrant investor program. It retained the 1990 regulations, but established a Pilot Program under which "regional centers" designated by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), now the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), could be established. In a regional center, the job creation requirements are more flexible and "passive" investment opportunities (via limited partnerships) for a substantial number of potential immigrant investors are created. Regional centers have been allotted 5,000 of the total 10,000 EB-5 visas available through the U.S. immigrant investor program on an annual basis.
The Pilot Program established in 1993 was scheduled to expire in 1998, but has been extended without interruption twice, most recently to September 30, 2009. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and Association to Invest in the USA (IIUSA), a trade group is currently lobbying to make the Program permanent.
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PIDC Regional Center
The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), the non-profit economic development arm of the City of Philadelphia, in conjunction with CanAm Enterprises, LLC, prepared and submitted an application to have the County of Philadelphia designated as a regional center under the U.S. immigrant investor program. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)—now the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)—formally designated the PIDC Regional Center on February 28, 2003 to participate in the Immigrant Investor Visa Pilot Program under Section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
A potential immigrant investor seeking an EB-5 investor visa has certain advantages by applying through a regional center such as the PIDC Regional Center. For instance, if an immigrant investor were to apply for an EB-5 investor visa independently, he or she would likely have to invest a minimum of US$1,000,000; however, if he or she applies through the PIDC Regional Center, the minimum investment is only US$500,000 because the investment would be located in an approved target employment area. Moreover, the PIDC Regional Center pools multiple investors together in one project, which means the project itself will be larger and financially more stable than one individual investing in a project alone. All PIDC Regional Center projects are located in the City of Philadelphia and range across a number of industry sectors, including manufacturing companies, professional firms, restaurants, hospitals and universities, and major real estate developments, among others.
During the life time of the investment, the PIDC Regional Center remains in communication with each immigrant investor. All investors in the PIDC Regional Center receive periodic reports regarding the status of the investment, job creation data based on reports from PIDC, the Philadelphia economy, and other relevant project information.
Please see our Investment section to learn more about the PIDC Regional Center's investment procedures, our existing limited partnership projects, and our current projects available for potential investors.
Job Creation through the PIDC Regional Center
One of the most important advantages for immigrant investors applying for an EB-5 investor visa through a regional center such as the PIDC Regional center is that they may satisfy the Program's job creation requirements by counting not only direct jobs created as a result of his or her investment, but also indirect jobs created in related industries as a result of the investment. Regional centers are able to calculate indirect job creation through the use of approved input-output employment modeling systems.
Unlike other regional centers, all PIDC Regional Center projects are based on direct job creation - which means that all our projects create actual new, full-time jobs in the City of Philadelphia. Each project is required to provide a detailed job creation forecast based on a business plan specifying its employment needs, which are then carefully reviewed and evaluated by PIDC prior to their recommendation of the project to the PIDC Regional Center. Throughout the life of the project, these direct jobs are closely monitored by PIDC on a semi-annual basis, using PIDC's own job reporting forms, which are also used for PIDC's federal, state and city funded programs. For a sample of PIDC's job creation form, please click here. These job reporting forms are supplemented by the project's employment records. Indirect job creation is based on these new, direct jobs.
The PIDC Regional Center's approved job multiplier is the Regional Input-Output Modeling System (RIMS) II, which is developed and maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce. We use the multipliers to calculate the number of indirect jobs resulting from the creation of each new, direct job.
Please see the example below using the RIMS II multipliers to determine indirect job calculations.
EXAMPLE: In order to determine the number of indirect jobs that will be created by the proposed PNBC Project, the RIMS II direct-effect multiplier tables for the Philadelphia region were used; specifically the multiplier reference for Miscellaneous fabricated metal product manufacturing, which is 332999. It is anticipated that 128 direct jobs will be created as a result of the opening of the PNBC Project. The indirect job effect of the completion of the PNBC Project can be determined by multiplying 128 by the multiplier in reference 332999 in the direct-effect multiplier table, 1.5189. The total impact on the economic area is 1.5189 times 128, which equals 194.4192 or 194. This is the total number of jobs created in the economic area as a result of the completion of the PNBC Project. Subtract 128 from 194 yields 66, which represents the new jobs created in other industries in the area or the indirect jobs created by the completion of the PNBC Project. Alternatively, the number of indirect jobs can be calculated by multiplying 128 with 1.5189 minus 1.0 or 0.5189 (1.0 represents the direct jobs, 0.5189 represents jobs elsewhere in the economic area per 1.0 direct jobs).
Thus, 128 new direct jobs and 66 indirect full-time jobs in related industries or a total of 194 new jobs are forecasted to result from the investment in the PNBC Project.
For more information from the BEA about RIMS II, please click here
For more information about RIMS II, please click here for a copy of the RIMS II Handbook, published by the BEA.
For a copy of the RIMS II multipliers for Philadelphia County by aggregate industries, please click here.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was transitioned into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 1, 2003. All service and benefit functions of the INS, including responsibility for regulations governing the U.S. Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, were transferred to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which was established within DHS. In January 2005, USCIS established the Investor and Regional Center Unit (IRCU) to oversee and administer all aspects of the EB-5 investor visa category and the Pilot Program.
The USCIS is responsible for the administration of immigration and naturalization adjudication functions and establishing immigration services policies and priorities. USCIS allows the DHS to improve the administration of benefits and immigration services for applicants by exclusively focusing on immigration and citizenship services. Fifteen thousand (15,000) federal employees and contractors working in approximately 250 headquarters and field offices around the world comprise the USCIS.
For additional information regarding the U.S. immigrant investor program, please visit the
USCIS website on "Immigration through Investment."
