The investment immigration projects of major regional centers in the United States are divided into "projects with investment returns" and "projects without investment returns." For example, "the safety of capital recovery in projects without investment returns is more reliable," and "investment returns are inversely proportional to the safety of capital recovery." This statement makes sense in general investments, but it is debatable in the context of the EB-5 program, as there is no necessary connection between investment returns and the safety of capital recovery. Moreover, from a detailed accounting perspective, if there are no investment returns at all, immigrants may incur losses.
Invest in the United States, Immigrate to Canada
For U.S. investment immigration projects, some immigration intermediaries like to compare the United States with Canada, stating that in Canada, one deposits 400,000 Canadian dollars in a designated account without interest for 5 years, while in the U.S., one deposits 500,000 U.S. dollars without interest for 5 years. Firstly, the U.S. government does not guarantee the return of immigrant funds like the Canadian government does; secondly, the U.S. government even encourages immigrants to have investment returns.
From the perspective of legislative intent, unlike the Canadian government which is "seeking immigrants," the U.S. government is "seeking investments." The U.S. government hopes that immigrant applicants can create 10 job opportunities. If there are no investment returns, how can wages be paid to workers? True U.S. investment immigration should be understood as "investment + immigration." Investment is the core, immigration is the benefit; the former is more important as it relates to the future transition from a temporary green card to a permanent green card.
A 5% annual return is more reasonable
To calculate the actual immigration profit and loss, one must compare the actual expenses and benefits over 5 years. The cost of EB-5 investment immigration is an investment amount of 500,000 U.S. dollars and an immigration fee of 50,000 U.S. dollars. The living expenses for the 5 years before recovering the investment include: purchasing full medical insurance for the family at 500 U.S. dollars per month, totaling 30,000 U.S. dollars in premiums over 5 years; after purchasing a house for 500,000 U.S. dollars, paying 5,500 U.S. dollars in property taxes annually, totaling 33,000 U.S. dollars over 5 years; and monthly family expenses for food, clothing, housing, and transportation of about 1,000 U.S. dollars, totaling 50,000 U.S. dollars over 5 years. Therefore, the family living expenses over 5 years are no less than 113,000 U.S. dollars.
Benefits that investment immigrants can enjoy include: if attending public universities, children can save 15,000 U.S. dollars in tuition per year compared to international students during basic education, saving 75,000 U.S. dollars over 5 years; during university, children can save 20,000 U.S. dollars in tuition per year compared to international students, saving 100,000 U.S. dollars over 5 years; for families with critically ill patients, medical insurance payouts will not exceed 50,000 U.S. dollars per year, totaling no more than 250,000 U.S. dollars over 5 years; if there are neither students nor patients, other benefits are basically unavailable.
Comparing expenses and benefits, if the EB-5 program does not promise returns, families without students and patients will incur losses. However, if the EB-5 promises a 5% annual return, then after 5 years, the recovery amount will be 625,000 U.S. dollars, and healthy families with children can earn approximately 37,000 to 62,000 U.S. dollars.
