The United States has always been a popular country for immigration among the Chinese population. In recent years, the U.S. investment immigration market has remained consistently hot in China. The price increase for U.S. investment immigration in 2015 has become one of the widely discussed issues in the industry. What impact will the price increase of the U.S. EB-5 investment program have on investors? WorldWay's U.S. immigration experts will provide a detailed analysis.
Currently, Canada requires a minimum of 2 million Canadian dollars for a 15-year risk investment, Australia’s investment immigration starts at 5 million Australian dollars, the United Kingdom has raised its requirement to 2 million British pounds, and Hong Kong may also increase to 15 million or even 20 million Hong Kong dollars, while Hungary is also raising its prices.
Comparative data from various countries shows that obtaining the most valuable green card—U.S. investment immigration—currently only requires an investment of $500,000. Therefore, it can be said that the price increase for the U.S. EB-5 investment immigration program is an inevitable trend.
If all goes as expected, the reference basis for the price increase should be based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The average CPI-U in 1990 was 130.7, while the average for the first ten months of 2014 was 236.987, indicating that the CPI-U has increased by 1.813 times over 24 years. Based on this calculation, the current investment of $500,000 in a TEA area will rise to $906,500, while the $1 million in a non-TEA area will increase to $1,813,000.
The "Cons" of the Price Increase for the U.S. EB-5 Investment Immigration Program for Investors:
First, the pressure on investors to increase their investment funds will grow.
When the investment amount rises from $500,000 to $906,500, it means that investors will need to invest an additional $406,500, which undoubtedly significantly increases the investment pressure on them.
Second, the investment risks for investors will correspondingly increase.
Previously, the risk investment was $500,000, but after it becomes $900,000, the amount of investment funds involved in risk management will inevitably increase.
Finally, the difficulty in explaining the source of funds will also increase.
The additional $406,500 will also need to be proven regarding its source. After the price increase of the EB-5 investment, the corresponding work and difficulty in preparing the source of funds for investors will certainly increase.
The "Pros" of the Price Increase for the U.S. EB-5 Investment Immigration Program for Investors:
First, the process of applying for EB-5 investment immigration will become smoother and easier after the price increase.
Currently, the approval rate for I-526 and I-829 has stabilized at over 90%, even reaching nearly 98%. This means that as long as the EB-5 investment project itself does not encounter issues, obtaining temporary and permanent green cards should not be a problem.
Second, the situation will be completely different after the price increase of EB-5 investment immigration.
For example, a $100 million project needs to create 1,100 jobs. At the price of $500,000, it requires 110 investors to raise $55 million, which meets 55% of the total investment cost. When the EB-5 price rises to $900,000, it still needs to create 1,100 jobs with the same 110 investors, but it can raise $99 million, reaching 99% of the total cost, essentially meeting all investment needs.
This change in ratio is groundbreaking for EB-5 investment immigration. EB-5 projects will no longer rely on other matching capital, and can complete real estate project development in the U.S. solely based on their own EB-5 fundraising. The significance of this impact is self-evident.
Finally, after the price increase, investors will need to carefully select high-quality projects.
Good projects will no longer be restricted by various financing conditions; as long as they can persuade EB-5 investors, that will be sufficient. It is worth noting that even if the U.S. EB-5 investment immigration price rises to $900,000, compared to Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and others, it still remains the most cost-effective investment immigration program. Therefore, choosing high-quality projects becomes even more crucial.
The U.S. EB-5 Investment Immigration Industry Association believes that the occurrence of visa backlogs in 2015 is inevitable, and it, along with the price increase of investment funds, will become the two key terms for U.S. EB-5 investment immigration in 2015. So, under the dual pressure of backlogs and price increases, how should investors select high-quality projects?
WorldWay's U.S. immigration experts analyze that with the fiscal year 2015 backlog approaching, time is of the essence, and investors can no longer afford to hesitate. Currently, making a decision as soon as possible may be the last chance for investors to secure an EB-5 visa. To ensure a successful application and reduce approval time, it is currently advisable to choose projects that have already been approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This is the best choice to cope with backlogs and price increases. Currently, the Pennsylvania Turnpike project and the New York Liberty Garden luxury apartment project, exclusively represented by WorldWay, are both high-quality EB-5 projects that have already received approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. For more details, please call: 400-138-2929.
