3 Reasons Why EB-5 Visa to USA is a Good Option for Indian Citizens

Girish Mohile is an Associate with Davies & Associates based in Mumbai, India. Girish works as local Business Development representative for the firm and acts as liaison between Indian clients and US attorneys on their source of funds. Girish is not licensed to practice law in the United States and nothing in this blog constitutes legal advice.

Indians opting US for studies find it increasingly difficult to find a job and live there due to massive backlogs faced by them in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories forcing almost a decade long wait. This massive waiting period is after application for H-1B visas has been made, which undergoes a lottery in which if successful, they must find an employer willing to sponsor for a green card after which they will face the backlog mentioned above. With the EB-5 Visa, permanent residency is offered to foreign nationals on the condition that they invest a minimum of USD 500,000 in a US-based business through lawful sources which manage to create ten full-time jobs. With immigration laws becoming much stricter since the Trump administration, EB-5 seems like the only good option left for Indian citizens right now, and here are a few more reasons why:

1) Fast route to a Green Card

Indian citizens are facing a delay in their EB-5 application process, but this remains far shorter than the wait in EB-2 or EB-3 categories. The EB-5 delay may be about four years, so it is vital to start considering an application to prevent any children from ageing out of a family application at 21 years of age.

2) H-1B visa difficulties 

With the Trump administration curbing immigration at full force, obtaining an H-1B visa is becoming tougher than ever before with various restrictive executive orders and policy memoranda. Since EB-5 does not need employer sponsorship for permanent residency, it’s more attractive to employers and you can enjoy more freedom in terms of career movement.

3) In- state tuition 

Under permanent residency many students become eligible for in-state tuition fees at public universities with in-state tuition fees being significantly cheaper than the full tuition fees charged to foreign nationals.

These are just some of the benefits EB-5 has to offer but with increasing restrictions from the Trump administration, it may turn out to be the only practical option for Indian citizens to apply for studies or for US business immigration. In the process you may have to hire an EB 5 visa attorney or an EB 5 immigration lawyer in India depending on your motivation for immigrating to US, to help you in process of immigration to the States.