USA EB5 Price Increase

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last week that as of November 21st 2019, the USA’s popular EB5 Investor visa programme will significantly increase in price. The minimum investment, previously set at $500,000 will soon rise to $900,000, which is an 80% increase! This decision has been a long time coming following many years of speculation. The regional centre program was initially designed to expire after 5 years, but US Congress has continued to extend the program to the present day. This is the first major programme review since 1993 and the first-ever price increase since the program was launched in 1990.

The new $900,000 threshold is for investments made in areas of high unemployment, known as “Targeted Employment Areas” (TEAs). Investments made outside these areas will rise to $1.8 million from $1 million. La Vida offer a number of EB5 investment projects.

Processing times can vary depending on your nationality. The US only issue approximately 10,000 Green cards per year (including family members) and no country can use more than 7% of the available limit. This means the waiting list is highly oversubscribed for countries where the demand for EB5 Visa are strong, for examlpe China, India and Vietnam. Citizens of other nations will be able to gain their Green Card in a much shorter amount of time due to a smaller waiting list.

Investors considering the EB5 programme are encouraged to start their application as soon as possible to ensure they meet the November deadline. Most applicants take an average of 4-6 weeks to gather all their documentation and it can take another month or two to prove the source of funds. For more details on the programme please contact our experts.