Investing in South Carolina?
The EB-5 Category allows a Foreign National the freedom to sponsor him or herself for U.S. Permanent Residency (Green Card). Specifically, Congress created the EB-5 immigrant category in the Immigration Act of 1990 with the goal of attracting foreign capital to the U.S and therefore creating jobs for American workers in the process. The EB-5 category allows an eligible investor to obtain permanent residency to the United States where he or she properly confirms to the requirements of the category.
There are three basic requirements in the EB-5 visa category: (1)The investor must establish a business or invest in an existing business that was created or restructured after November 1990; (2)The investor must have invested a minimum of $1 million or $500,000 (depending on the location of the business); (3)The business must create at least 10 full-time U.S workers.
Target Employment Area for EB-5 Visas
A Target Employment Area or “TEA” is a geographical location within the U.S. that has been shown to have an unemployment rate that is at least 150% greater than the U.S. National Unemployment Rate. A TEA could also be a location that is deemed to be rural in terms of population, (location must have a population of less than 20,000 people). An investment made into a TEA business will qualify that investor for an EB-5 Visa with a $500,000 investment.