Questions & Answers

What jobs could be counted for an investment in an apartment building?

If I were to purchase a 24 unit apartment building (unfinanced) worth over $1 million, would that qualify for an EB-5 green card? My main concern is the minimum 10 job requirement. Could I count the maintenance workers, contractors, cleaners, pool company, etc., as employees? If an employee were to hold two positions at the apartment, would that count as two jobs?

Answers

• Fredrick W Voigtmann

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 3, 2015

  Only full-time permanent employees (not part-time positions and/or independent contractors) will count for EB-5 purposes. Also, the new commercial enterprise must create at least ten new jobs. Purchasing an existing apartment building does not create any new employment. Finally, it is the positions that are counted, not the actual employees who fill them. You can have two part-time employees share a full-time position, but I do not think it is possible to have one employee fill two full-time positions. They would have to work at least 70 hours per week.

• Ed Beshara

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 24, 2015

  An experienced EB-5 immigration attorney can advise you on how a U.S. business can be EB-5 compliant. Your personal investment amount can be invested in a new commercial enterprise and has to cause the creation of ten new jobs. The EB-5 corporate structure can be a direct business or an EB-5 regional center project. In an EB-5 regional center business the required number of jobs can be calculated on an indirect basis.

• Oliver Huiyue Qiu

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 19, 2015

  If you are buying an existing apartment building, even with a large sum of investment, it may not pass the test as an "at risk" investment. Besides, counting jobs that already exist before the purchase does not seem to lead to new job creation; therefore it fails to meet another important EB-5 requirement.

• Michael A Harris, Esq

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 19, 2015

  You are going to need to create NEW jobs. Preexisting jobs will not count unless you have acquired a Troubled Business. If the jobs will be new, then you would count them if they were employed by your company. One employee counts as one job.

• John J Downey

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 18, 2015

  A full-time job as described for EB-5 purposes is 35 hours a week. They are employed by the entity and receive a W-2 IRS form.

• Bernard P Wolfsdorf

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 18, 2015

  It is unlikely this will work - you do not have 10 full-time jobs.

• Ian E Scott

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 18, 2015

  The jobs created for an EB-5 visa are 10 full-time jobs (independent contractors and part-time are excluded and you cannot add together part time jobs). Also indirect jobs are excluded for direct investments. There are provisions for a type of job sharing, but this is very difficult to establish, so you should count on creating 10 independent W-2 jobs.

• Jinhee Wilde

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 18, 2015

  Please note that the EB-5 investment must be in an active job creating project/business, not a passive investment of the required amount. Just purchasing and owning a real estate property, such as an apartment building, is usually considered passive investment unless the operation and maintenance of the apartment will require 10+ full-time, permanent job positions. If the maintenance workers and janitorial staff, etc. are actual employees who will receive W-2s for full-time positions, it will be acceptable. As this is a direct investment rather than through a regional center, you cannot count indirect jobs, such as contractors and pool company employees, etc.

• J Bruce Weinman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 18, 2015

  The regulations (at 8 C.F.R. 204.6 (e)) specifically exclude owning and operating a personal residence from the definition of a new commercial enterprise. So no, this will not work for EB-5. Your idea about one employee holding two positions is interesting. Each position must be for at least 35 hours per week, so theoretically if an employee worked for 70 hours per week this might work under the regulations - but it is unlikely immigration would accept that.

• Vaughan de Kirby

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 18, 2015

  You could count full-time employees or the combining of part-time employees to equal a full time employee. You should immediately work with your attorney and a professional business plan provider.

• Karen Weinstock

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 18, 2015

  10 jobs must be 10 full-time jobs with the business/apartment complex; it includes leasing and maintenance personnel in-house, but does not include sub-contractors or outsourced activities, such as pool maintenance, unless you are doing them in-house.

• Salvatore Picataggio

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 18, 2015

  As a direct EB-5 investment, you need to count employees that are directly employed by the enterprise. These employees need to be 35 hours/week or more and are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Independent contractors would not be counted. If you associate the investment with a regional center, you can count indirect employment creation.

• Shahzad Q Qadri

  RC Creator

  Answered on February 18, 2015

  I am assuming this a direct investment; in that case, you need to ensure that all of these are full-time W2 employees - you cannot count indirect or induced jobs.