What is the minimum share I must have in a company to be eligible for an EB-5 visa? Must it be 51 percent as a major stakeholder in the company or can it be as little as a 1-5 percent stake in the company?
Answers
Salvatore Picataggio
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyIt can be a very minor percentage (sometimes we see less than 1 percent in large regional center projects) as long as you also have an active management role (i.e. policy formulation) and otherwise meet all of the investment and job creation requirements.
Lynne Feldman
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyNo minimum amount is required. It just needs to make business sense to the Officer. Often EB-5 investment shares are limited partners.
Julia Roussinova
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThere is no set minimum.
John J Downey
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThe statute does not require any specific percentage. It states that the investor must have an "active participation" in the investment. It is usually sufficient to act as a limited partner to satisfy the requirement.
A Olusanjo Omoniyi
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyFor EB-5 purposes, it does not matter what fraction of the business you own. However, what matters is that for the business to successfully petition for you for EB-5, you have to invest either at least $500,000 if the business is located in the Targeted Employment Area (TEA or "rural area") or at least $1 million if the business is located in an urban area. In addition, even if either investment is made, it must result in the creation of a minimum of 10 jobs within two years after the conditional green card is granted and operation of the business is started. Thus, your goal should be to successfully meet the EB-5 requirements rather than focusing on your percentage or fraction of the business.
Peter Zhang
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThe stake is not as important as whether you can show your investment created the requisite jobs and that you participate in the management of the business.
Robert Lee
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyIt can be as little as a 1-5 percent stake in the company.
Matthew T Galati
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThere is no minimum. Large projects may have thousands of investors, owning but a small percentage in the company. That being said, the percentage ownership needs to be congruent with the investor's role in the company. For example, with "direct" (i.e. non-regional center) petitions, it might not make sense for a business plan to discuss an investor's control of the company if s/he only owns a small percentage.
Bernard P Wolfsdorf
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThere is no minimum percentage of ownership required for EB-5. It could be a small interest.
Charles Foster
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYou are not required to own any particular percentage of the company. There is no minimum share, provided you have made the required investment. It does not have to be 51 percent. Yes, it can be anywhere from a 1-5 percent stake in the company.
Anthony Korda
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThere is no minimum ownership requirement. However, in a direct investment, you must invest the minimum amount ($1 million or $500,000 depending on location) and you must be involved in the management of the entity. This means that you must hold a board or executive position with a genuine management function.
Stephen Berman
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThere is no minimum share.
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