Investor Visa
The United States will allow a person to self-petition for a green card under the Immigrant Investor Visa Program, if he or she can properly document investments in the United States as required under the Immigration law.
Qualifying for the Immigrant Investor Visa Program is based solely on the amount of money invested in a new United States "start up" company or in a "troubled" United States Company. Upon approval, a spouse and children under the age of 21 can also be eligible to obtain their green card (permanent residence).
A non-US citizen must prove the following to be eligible to obtain green card (permanent residence) through the Immigrant Investor Visa Program:
1. You must have invested or are in the process of actively investing $1,000,000 in a United States company. However, if the United States company is in a "targeted employment area", the required investment can be as low as $500,000. "Targeted employment areas" include rural areas and cities where the unemployment rate is at least 150% of the national average. Please contact Spar and Bernstein, for more information on targeted employment areas.
2. Invest means placing your money at "risk". Capital investment may include cash, treasury bonds, inventory, equipment, or a secured debt or promissory note for which you are personally liable, such as a mortgage on your home or other property which you own. Unsecured promissory notes do not constitute an investment of capital for immigrant investment purposes.
3. Your investment must create full-time employment for at least ten (10) United States workers. You must hold a management or executive position in the company in which you invested.
4. Your investment must be made in a "new commercial enterprise" or "troubled business".
New Commercial Enterprise is one that was established after November 29, 1990 by:
· purchasing and reorganizing an existing company;
· starting a "new" business; or
· forming a mutual investment fund.
New Commercial Enterprise can also be shown through an investment in an existing company that was established after November 29, 1990:
· Which resulted in a substantial change of at least a forty percent (40%) increase in net worth or number of employees of the United States enterprise.
- or –
· Which has been in existence for at least two years and has incurred a net loss of twenty percent (20%) or more of the company's net worth. An investment in a "troubled business" does not have to create new jobs as described above, but rather, show that existing jobs will not be lost.