Can I Obtain U.S. Citizenship Through Investments?

In order to promote economic growth in this country, immigration law allows those who invest in our economy or create new businesses and promote employment to obtain green cards and immigrate to America with their families.  Often because the requirements for these green cards are so specific, it also requires the advice of an immigration attorney to ensure that all the requirements of American immigration law are met.  There are a number of benefits to applying for green cards through the investment category of employment visas under immigration law:

• No employer labor certificates or specific employment positions are required under immigration law; their immigration attorney can file directly for permanent residency visas
• The immigrant can work or travel anywhere throughout the United States
• The immigrant can become a U.S. business owner or manager
• Immigrants do not need to be sponsored by a family member or employer, but merely work with an immigration attorney to petition for investment green cards
• Immigrants and their immigration attorneys can sponsor other family members to obtain U.S. green cards
• An immigrant can become a U.S. citizen within five years with the help of an immigration attorney

Requirements for Investment Green Cards

There are specific investment amounts or business creation measurements that immigration law requires the investor to meet.  An immigration attorney can help an applicant determine if their investments reach the appropriate levels.  Their immigration attorneys can also help provide evidence for these activities when filing petitions for investment green cards under immigration law.  In addition, immigration law has established quotas for the number of investment green cards that can be granted every year.  Immigration law designates 10,000 green cards per year for these “alien investors” as they are called.  Enlisting an immigration attorney can assist petitioners in presenting evidence for their applications for investment green cards effectively and according to immigration law. 

Half of those 10,000 annual investment green cards are allocated to a pilot program under immigration law that encourages investment and employment creation in certain designated low-income and high unemployment regional centers. It may be helpful for an investor to work with an immigration attorney to determine if such an option is appropriate for them.  An immigration attorney can help determine if an investment in regional centers is qualified under immigration law, if the new business employs at least 10 new employees, and promotes economic growth, new jobs, productivity, and investment.  Evidence for these benefits must be included with their application, often with the help of an immigration attorney.
 
Eligible Applicants for Investment Green Cards

Immigration law designates those who are eligible to apply for investment green cards as those who have invested or are in the process of investing in the American economy or a particular business or region, or those who are creating or saving jobs.  Some of the details established in immigration law that an immigration attorney should help provide evidence for include:

Applicants for green cards, who create a new business, purchase and restructure an old business, or expand an existing business.  This immigration law requirement can also be met by those applicants for green cards who maintain the employment level or net worth of a business that has suffered losses in a failing economy.  An immigration attorney can help applicants for green cards prove that they meet these immigration law requirements
Immigration law can also approve applicants for investment green cards who have invested or who are in the process of investing at least $1 million in a new enterprise, or at least $500,000 in a “targeted employment area,” with high unemployment.  However, immigration attorneys must be able to provide evidence of these activities
Under immigration law, those whose new businesses benefit the U.S. economy by creating 10 or more jobs, or maintaining previous employment levels in a troubled economy or business, can also be approved for investment green cards if their immigration attorney can provide evidence of these results

In addition, applicants for investment green cards and their immigration attorneys must prove that their investment money was legally obtained.  Their immigration attorney must also show that the investor is actively participating in the new business, creating jobs, and pursuing growth.

Obtaining Conditional Investment Green Cards

Once applications for investment green cards are approved, “alien investors” must wait for an immigrant visa number to become available based on the applicable quotas.  Their immigration attorney can help track the availability of a visa number.  After receiving that number, applicants for investment green cards and their immigration attorneys can apply for and receive conditional green cards for a period of two years.  Ninety days before the end of that period those with conditional green cards and their immigration attorneys can apply for full permanent resident status.