EB-5 Visa Investor Requirements

The EB5 Visa is typically one of the fastest ways to gain US Permanent Residence (Green Card status) in the US. There are no language restrictions, business or academic/education experience requirements, and currently no quota backlogs as found in other US visa categories.

Are you admissible to the United States via the EB-5 Visa?

Applicants for EB-5 Visa lawful permanent residence (Green Card) must demonstrate, affirmatively, that they are admissible to the United States.

Broadly speaking, the EB5 investor must meet certain criteria:

  • Be in good health (no communicable diseases or serious mental disorder).
  • Must not have a criminal record or background of any kind.
  • Must have evidence of a qualifying financial background for at least the last five years.
  • Must have the financial capacity to participate.
  • Must not have any disqualifying U.S. immigration background.

There are many grounds of inadmissibility that the government may cite as the basis to deny admission for lawful permanent residence.

Various statutes, including, for example, sections 212, 237 & 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Antiterrorism & Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform & Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) set forth grounds of inadmissibility, which may prevent an otherwise eligible applicant from receiving an immigrant visa, entering the United States or adjusting to lawful permanent residence.

Examples of aliens precluded from entering the United States include:

  • persons who are determined to have a communicable disease of public health significance;
  • persons who are found to have, or have had, a physical or mental disorder, and behavior associated with the disorder which poses, or may pose, a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or of others, or have had a physical or mental disorder and a history of behavior associated with the disorder, which behavior has posed a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the immigrant alien or others, and which behavior is likely to recur or to lead to other harmful behavior;
  • persons who have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense), or persons who admit having committed the essential elements of such a crime;
  • persons who have been convicted of any law or regulation relating to a controlled substance, admitted to having committed or admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of same;
  • persons who are convicted of multiple crimes (other than purely political offenses) regardless of whether the conviction was in a single trial or whether the offenses arose from a single scheme of misconduct and regardless of whether such offenses involved moral turpitude;
  • persons who are known, or for whom there is reason to believe, are, or have been, traffickers in controlled substances;
  • persons engaged in prostitution or commercialized vice;
  • persons who have committed in the United States certain serious criminal offenses, regardless of whether such offense was not prosecuted as a result of diplomatic immunity;
  • persons excludable on grounds related to national security, related grounds, or terrorist activities;
  • persons determined to be excludable by the secretary of state of the United States on grounds related to foreign policy;
  • persons who are or have been a member of a totalitarian party, or persons who have participated in Nazi persecutions or genocide;
  • persons who are likely to become a public charge at any time after entry;
  • persons who were previously deported or excluded and deported from the United States;
  • persons who by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seek to procure (or have procured) a visa, other documentation or entry into the United States or other benefit under the immigration act;
  • persons who have at any time assisted or aided any other alien to enter or try to enter the United States in violation of law;
  • certain aliens who have departed the United States to avoid or evade U.S. military service or training;
  • persons who are practicing polygamists; and
  • persons who were unlawfully present in the United States for continuous or cumulative periods in excess of 180 days.

EB5GreenCard.com, its owners and associates, do not function as attorneys or legal counsel and do not attempt to interpret immigration law and do not provide or offer legal advice or legal services or investment advice. Anyone considering an investment based visa should seek independent professional advice. The information on this site is intended to be general on the subject of the EB5 investment visa green card program and should not be relied upon for any specific situation. Any reference to designated regional centers on this website is posted as reference material only.