Buying a Green Card: EB-5 Investor Visa (Ⅲ)
Creating or Saving Jobs
To qualify for EB-5 status, an investment normally must create full-time employment for at least 10
The regulations define an employee for EB-5 purposes as an individual who provides services or labor for the new commercial enterprise and receives wages or other remuneration directly from the new commercial enterprise. This definition excludes independent contractors.
1. The Types of Jobs: The jobs created must be full-time. This means employment of a qualified employee in a position that requires a minimum of 35 working hours per week, regardless of who fills the position. Job-sharing arrangements, where two or more qualifying employees share a full-time position, will also serve as full-time employment if the hourly requirement per week is met. Job-sharing does not include combinations of part-time positions even if when combined such positions meet the hourly requirement per week.
2. Where the Jobs Must be Located: When enacting the EB-5 program, Congress took an affirmative step toward creating jobs in the geographic areas that need them most. The statute sets aside 3,000 of the approximately 10,000 EB-5 visas available annually for foreign citizens who invest in targeted employment areas. The statute defines a targeted employment area as a rural area or an area that has experienced high unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average.