State of Vermont EB-5 Visa Program
The State of Vermont EB-5 Visa Program is one of the sole EB-5 Programs that is overlooked and operated by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. The Agency's day to day involvement with the Vermont business community means they are well informed of business activity in the region and can ensure the project is well qualified.
Why the EB-5 Visa
Congress created the fifth employment-based preference (EB-5) immigrant visa category in 1990 for immigrants seeking to enter to engage in a commercial enterprise that will benefit the U.S. economy and create at least 10 full-time jobs.
Since August 2003 many people have emigrated to the United States using the EB-5 Visa. The EB-5 Visa provides:
- A direct route to a green card
- Permanent residency via the green card for the family including children under 21
- Freedom to live and work where you want in the USA or to retire.
- Become a U.S Citizen after 5 years of being a green card holder.
For those looking to work freely in the United States, or even to retire to the USA.
Please see the quote below from John Caulfield regarding the EB-5 Visa:
"I would also like to point out that a non-immigrant (E2) visa is not a good option for someone who intends to reside permanently in the United States. If the investor retires or sells their investment, his or her visa status lapses and he or she must leave the US. Only single dependent children under 21 are eligible for visas to accompany their investor parent, and when these children turn 21 they lose their status as a dependent and their visa. The more secure option for those that have the necessary capital is the permanent resident (Green Card EB-5) investor visa. In this case the required investment is one million dollars, or under certain circumstances $500,000."
John Caulfield, Consul General, US Embassy London.
Types of EB-5 Investment
If you wish to have an active role in your EB-5 investment then you will need to make an investment of atleast $1m.
A more passive EB-5 visa investment is an investment made within a Regional Development Center, an area which has been approved for immigrant investor capital by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). Investments of $500,000 are required. Please see our Vermont Regional Development Centre website for more information.
The regional development center route no longer insists on the direct employment of ten people but qualifies you if the investment 'indirectly' stimulates employment’. This allows investors to make a more passive type of investment, rather than managing an actively trading business and open the doors for retirement in the United States.
