+1-800-997-1228
Questions and Answers > EB-5 Requirements

What are the orgin country restrictions for EB-5?

Does the EB-5 visa program have restrictions on the countries where investors originate? Is there a cap on certain countries? Can anyone with the investment amount be a part of the EB-5 visa program regardless of what country they come from?

Answers

  • Avatar

    Reza Rahbaran

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There are no restrictions on any country. If an investor meets all EB-5 criteria, he may invest in the program regardless of his country of origin. Some countries are under U.S. economic sanctions. If this is the case, the investor must first obtain an OFAC license, prior to his or her funds entering the United States.

  • Avatar

    Ed Beshara

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There are no country restrictions on who can be an EB-5 investor. There are 10,000 EB-5 visas available per year and there are per country limits. For instance, because there are more Chinese EB-5 investors filing EB-5 petitions there is concern that the Chinese investors may reach their per country limits which will cause delay in the processing of their Conditional permanent residency.

  • Avatar

    Lei Jiang

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Currently there is no restriction on the country that the investor comes from.

  • Avatar

    Julia Roussinova

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Presently, there are no restrictions based on the country of origin. EB-5 investors from any country are allowed to apply for an EB-5 visa provided they otherwise meet the requirements of EB-5 program. Certain countries may have currency restrictions and you should discuss this with an immigration attorney of your choice, should your home country have currency restrictions in effect. Certain investors such as from Iran must also first apply to receive an OFAC license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control allowing such investors to transfer investment capital to a target investment in the U.S. before application for an EB-5 visa is filed with USCIS. Please do not hesitate to contact our office with any questions you may have.

  • Avatar

    Philip H Teplen

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    People from anywhere can invest in the EB-5 program as long as they qualify.

  • Avatar

    Roberto Ortiz

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The EB-5 program does not have country restrictions. However, certain countries have visa availability quotas that you can see by looking at the Visa Bulletin that comes out every month from the Department of State.

  • Avatar

    Boyd Campbell

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    No restrictions concerning country of origin, and no cap yet, but there has been talk of an upcoming cap for China because of last fiscal year''s increase in EB-5 visa usage from China.

  • Avatar

    Shahzad Q Qadri

    RC Creator
    Answered on

    As it stands now there are no country restrictions.

  • Avatar

    Mahsa Aliaskari

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There are no country restrictions for the EB-5 immigrant visa.

  • Avatar

    BoBi Ahn

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There is no Country limitation on where the Investor originates from for EB-5. EB-5 program is open to anyone regardless of what country he/she is from.

  • Avatar

    Fredrick W Voigtmann

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Currently, there are no per country restrictions that affect the EB-5 program.

  • Avatar

    Jinhee Wilde

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Currently, there is a 7% per country cap on all immigrant visas, including EB-5 cases. This means there is a restriction on how many immigrant visa could be issued to each country, which is why there is such a big backlog from countries like China and India on certain categories of EB cases. According to the proposed immigration reform that is being debated in Senate right now, the new bill will eliminate this per country quota. This will be a good news for many immigrants who have been waiting patiently for the visa numbers to get current.

  • Avatar

    Karen Weinstock

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There is no limitation on country on EB-5 cases since the quota has not been reached during recent years. However, in the future the quota may be reached for Chinese investors.

  • Avatar

    Lynne Feldman

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There is a quota by country (no more than 7% for any one country). So far it has never been reached but may be reached this year for China.

  • Avatar

    Stephen Berman

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There is no country restriction.