How much of the business must the EB-5 investor own?

Unlike the E-2 treaty investor visa, there is no ownership requirement to apply for an EB-5 visa. Please contact a qualified EB-5 attorney for additional assistance regarding your question(s).

An investor may qualify for an EB-5 visa even if they only own a minimal limited partnership. There is no requirement that there be a majority control if the investment is in a project of a regional center.

There is no percentage of the business required. The investor in many instances is a limited partner along with many other limited partners. This allows the investor to fulfill the requirement that they have an "active participation" in the project.

There is no legal requirement that the foreign investor own a certain percentage of the new commercial enterprise. The requirement for EB-5 investment into an existing business is that it must be "new," that is, the enterprise must have been established after Nov. 29, 1990, or that it must have been reorganized or restructured such that a new commercial enterprise has been established.

There are many ways to structure an EB-5 project and investment, which is why having an EB-5 immigration attorney leading your team of professionals is necessary.

There is no requirement that you own a majority or any particular percentage of the business. The only question is whether you made an investment of at least $1 million in a new enterprise that created at least 10 new jobs for U.S. workers. If the enterprise is located in a Targeted Economic Area (TEA), then the investment only has to be at least $500,000. Be aware that at any time Congress could raise the minimum investment amounts.

A business does not have to be hundred percent owned by a foreign investor. In fact, the issue is not how much percentage/size of the business that an investor bought, what matters is whether the foreign investment in question meets EB-5 requirements, such as a minimum investment of $500,000 in a TEA/rural area, the fund for the investment comes from legal source(s) and the investment must create at least 10 jobs.

There is no requirement the investor must own any percentage nor is then any requirement about control of the business - merely a requirement for participation. However, purchasing a percentage of a business may not meet the new job creation requirements. It is often better to start a new business, unless one can show it is a troubled business and jobs will be saved.

This is a great question, the government is very flexible on this point. So long as you receive an equity interest in the entity that is either a job creating entity or a new commercial enterprise and your investment amount is at risk during the course of the adjudication process of the green card paperwork, then it does not matter what percentage of equity you have.

There is no particular percentage requirement. The key component is creation of at least 10 full-time (at least 35 hours a week) permanent jobs with EB-5 funds.