Increased Demand for the US EB-5 Investor Program

The E-2 and US EB-5 visa are among the most attractive residency permits for businessmen looking to open a business and live in USA.

The US Congress created the US EB-5 visa in 1990 to create jobs by attracting qualified foreign investors.

On the other hand, the US EB-5 visa provides a direct path to US permanent residency (green card) and US citizenship for investors and their spouses and children.

About the US EB-5 visa

According to data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services, interest in the US EB-5 visa increased significantly in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter and the previous three years, due to the program’s benefits and the efforts of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

With the EB-5 visa, individuals must invest $1,800,000, or $1,050,000, or $800,000 in rural areas with high unemployment rates. In addition, the EB-5 visa must demonstrate that it will employ 10 full-time Americans.

Participants can invest in either a new business or a distressed business, which is defined as a business that has suffered a net loss in the past year or two years prior to applying for the EB-5 investor program.

Once accepted, applicants, their spouses, and unmarried children under the age of 21 will be eligible for conditional permanent residency for two years, which can then be extended.

The minimum number of visas for the US EB-5 investor program is 10,000, including principal applicants and their family members, which means there is a certain limit on the number of visas available per country per year, so the application process takes between 30 and 36 months and can be up to 60 months depending on where you come from, because as we mentioned, due to the cap on the number of applications, your application is deferred to the following year if there are other applicants before you.

The US E-2 work visa is the best alternative to the US EB-5 visa, which is a non-immigrant visa that is granted for 5 years at a time and is renewed if the investor maintains the requirements.

After obtaining a green card with the US EB-5 investor program, you will have to pay income taxes worldwide, but with the US E-2 work visa, you can avoid any tax by reducing the number of days you spend in America.

The processing times for a US work visa depend on the consulate you apply from, but they generally only take a few weeks, unlike the EB-5 visa, which has an average processing time of 40 months, and some countries such as China and India for example, require applicants to wait 10 years for their turn due to the fixed number required each year.

To qualify for a US work visa, applicants must be from countries that have a treaty with America, such as holders of a Grenada passport, and then invest in a US company without having an official amount for that, but of course the investment required in this program is much less than the requirements of the US EB-5 investor program.

Grenada Citizenship by Investment

If your country is not among the countries that have a treaty with America, investing in a second citizenship is the smartest solution to get to America.

Grenada has a joint treaty with America, and you can invest in Grenada to get a second citizenship, and by combining the amounts required to get Grenada citizenship and investing in America to get an E-2 business residency, the amounts required are still less than half of those required to get a US investor residency.

In addition to the possibility of access to America, Grenada citizenship is an attractive program for investors because you will be able to enter China, Britain and all Schengen countries without a visa, in addition you will get a favorable tax system and many other benefits for the investor and his family members.

For more information about the Grenada Citizenship Program and other Citizenship by Investment Programs, please contact one of the experts at Global Citizen Consultants, an accredited company for obtaining second citizenship after investment worldwide.