Obtaining a residence permit and permanent residence in the USA, emigration stages

ADVANTAGES OF A RESIDENCE PERMIT IN THE USA:

• no educational requirements;
• no managerial or business experience required;
• the source of investment capital can be a gift, inheritance, business or any other legal activity;
• there is no need to live in the region of investment;
• investors can live, work and get education in any US state;
• it is possible to include children under 21 years of age;
• no need to learn the language;
• After 5 years it is possible to obtain citizenship.

OPTIONS FOR OBTAINING A RESIDENCE PERMIT IN THE USA:

1. Create a business

The applicant must invest $1.5 million in the new company or $900 thousand if the company is located in the target commercial region, including rural areas or areas where the unemployment rate is at least 150% of the national average. With the involvement of 10 qualified employees with US citizenship on a full-time basis. The investor must participate in the work of the company.

2. Contribution to the regional center

Regional Centers are investment destinations pre-approved by USCIS. To qualify for this type of investment, the applicant must meet the following:

• investment volume from $900 thousand;
• hire 10 qualified part-time employees with US citizenship;
• possible indirect participation in the work of the company.

COST OF OBTAINING A RESIDENCE PERMIT IN THE USA:

• $15 thousand consultations and legal expenses;
• $50 thousand fee to the regional center;
• $1.5 thousand I-526;
• $405 DS-230;
• $3.75k I-829;
• $2.5 thousand I-829 performance fee;
• $85 biometrics;

Cost of support: $50,000.

Return on investment:

• from $900 thousand

In March 2021, US President Donald Trump signed the Consolidated Budget Act, which, among other things, provides for the extension of the EB-5 program for the next six months. It is this program that allows investors to obtain a residence permit and then citizenship of the United States of America.

The annual quota of visas for obtaining citizenship by investment is 10 thousand. The US Congress is constantly discussing proposals to distribute them between projects of Regional Centers, so that each disadvantaged region, by US standards, receives the necessary financial injections. The debate this year also ended in nothing; the program was extended unchanged. This was facilitated by the lobby of representatives of the real estate market. It is here that infusions flock, investors buy housing for huge sums. This is especially different for the Chinese diaspora, which annually purchases several billion dollars worth of housing in the regions.

The main question is what to invest in

According to the program, the investor must invest in a new enterprise. A commercial company is considered new if it was founded after November 29, 1990, and during this time has undergone changes, for example, increasing the number of employees. Investments can be made in businesses such as:

• business trust;
• private enterprise;
• joint-stock company;
• partnership on shares, etc.

Investments in real estate during the construction phase are considered very profitable. In addition to building shops, hotels or offices from scratch, a businessman applying for a green card can buy an apartment or hotel room for himself.

It is worthwhile to approach the issue of choosing commercial real estate in which you plan to invest as responsibly as possible.

Experienced investors advise paying attention to the following:

• the economy of the state in which you are going to invest;
• taxes in the USA and in the state of your choice;
• the possibility of obtaining tax benefits;
• forecast for the profitability of the enterprise in which you are investing.

All these points can be resolved with the help of various companies that operate in this market segment. Consultations on the above issues will help make your investments more effective.

Where to invest is equally important

The future development and profit that will follow from the investment depends on the place where the investments will be made. In the United States, real estate and commercial prices vary depending on states, proximity to metropolitan areas, and regional development.

By participating in the EB-5 program, a future investor can choose an area with a high unemployment rate that is one and a half times the US average. Or invest money in the development of rural areas near megacities, or in a town with a population of less than 20 thousand people. And also to other areas not related to the above. But then the investment increases to $1 million.

Approximate prices of commercial real estate in the USA

If you decide to invest in a mini-store with a gas station, the investment will reach up to a million dollars. In case of acquisition of this object, 2 million in full.

A supermarket or department store will require an investment of one and a half million. Its total cost is 2.5-3.0 million dollars.

A sports club or shopping center requires an investment of 5 million.

A small 2-star hotel in the states of Washington or Oregon will cost 800 thousand - a million dollars. In California, the same hotel would cost up to 10 million (or half that amount as an investment).

An office center typically costs from one to three million, depending on the size.

Immigration methods

There are several reasons for legal entry with the right to obtain a residence permit in the United States. To achieve the right to long-term legal stay in the United States of America, you need to choose the most suitable one. Such grounds include:

Marriage

By marrying an American or an American, you can obtain a residence permit in the USA. If the marriage takes place on American territory, the foreign spouse immediately receives a residence permit valid for 1 year. After this time, you can apply for permanent residence. After three years of marriage, you can apply for American citizenship. The main document required for legalization in America in connection with marriage with a citizen of the country is a marriage certificate. If this document was issued outside the United States, a labor-intensive operation will be required to legalize it according to American laws.

US immigration authorities closely monitor foreigners who come to the country in connection with marriage. Fictitious marital relations can lead to deportation from the country. Migration control authorities require proof of the reality of the marriage relationship. A good option is having a child together. The American mentality is very different from what we are used to. For example, a migration officer may ask a spouse what kind of face cream his wife uses. If the answer is incorrect, they may conclude that the marriage is fictitious.

Job invitation

The USA is “buying up brains” around the world. For top-level specialists, finding work in the country is not particularly difficult. But people who have not yet achieved fame and glory also have a chance to find an American employer. The contract can be concluded in person, for example, upon arriving in the United States on a tourist visa, or remotely. The employer must register the invitation of the hired employee with the immigration service. An invitation with an appropriate visa is the main document for obtaining a residence permit in the United States on this basis.

European migration legislation, in this regard, is much stricter than American legislation. In the EU, to hire a foreigner, you must first look for an employee among local residents, then among citizens of other countries of the European Union, and only then can you invite a foreigner. This is not the case in the United States. There is no increased competition with American citizens. But only highly qualified specialists can count on invitations.

Having arrived in the United States on a work visa, a foreigner must obtain a residence permit in the United States within 3 months. The residence permit is issued for a year with the possibility of extension. You should know that work visas in the United States are divided into immigration, which give the right to obtain a residence permit, and non-immigrant, issued for a certain period. A non-immigrant visa does not provide the right to a residence permit, but the possibility of extending it allows one to hope for legal immigration to the United States in the future.

Investments

The United States is seeking to attract foreign capital. Wealthy residents of the CIS countries can take advantage of the opportunity to obtain a residence permit in the United States for investment. To do this, you need to invest from $500 thousand in agricultural projects implemented by the authorities or from $1 million in projects of a regional development center.

The second investment option is opening your own business in the USA. By registering an American company, you can, as with investing, obtain a residence permit for a period of 2 years. In both cases of investment, after two years, you will have to undergo state monitoring of the effectiveness of the business or investment. If the findings are positive, it will be possible to extend your residence permit in the United States.

Own real estate in the United States, formally, does not give the right to purchase a residence permit. However, if its value is $1 million or more, you have the right to apply for a long-term residence permit in the country. However, there are no requirements for the intended purpose of the property. You can buy any object. This purchase is also permitted for non-US residents.

Investment options for immigration to the United States are popular among wealthy citizens of the CIS countries. It should be borne in mind that money invested in the United States may be frozen and even confiscated if evidence of its criminal origin arises.

Participation in the Diversification Lottery program

The United States of America is a state created by immigrants. Although the country is not interested in the arrival of unskilled and poor immigrants, in memory of this, it is considered necessary to give a chance to this category of migrants. Now you can’t board a ship, go to American shores and legally stay there forever, but you can win the diversification lottery, which is often called the Green Card lottery.

All residents of third world countries, which in the United States include post-socialist states, can participate in the drawing. Mandatory requirements for lottery participants are:

• having completed secondary education;
• good health;
• the absence, on the part of the immigrant, of a risk to the security of the United States.

You need to apply for participation in the lottery in November-December. The results will be known approximately in May. The chances of winning are not high. Approximately, they can be estimated as 1 in 200. However, about 3.5 million people participate in the lottery every year, and every two hundred or so people win. For those who received a Green Card as a result of winning, the American consulate will issue an immigrant visa based on a document confirming this fact. A residence permit in the USA will be issued after arriving in the country. Almost impossible to win the Green Card lottery - the easiest way to immigrate to the United States.

Family reunion

If a foreigner has close relatives who are US citizens or persons who have received permanent residence there, they can be reunited with the family. Residents of the United States must contact the Immigration Service to request that their family invitation be endorsed. The fact of having close family ties with foreigners will need to be proven with documents.

The inviting party will need to provide evidence of their financial solvency. Your wealth or income must allow you to support yourself and the invited relative. You will need to submit documents confirming that foreign relatives will be provided with housing and financial support for the first time. After the invitation is endorsed, the foreign relatives will be issued a family visa. Having arrived in the USA using it, you can apply for a residence permit.

Political refuge

Refugees in the United States are issued a residence permit for 4 years at once. There is no need to renew it. If circumstances in the immigrant’s homeland have not changed during this time, he will be granted permanent residence. Once it is safe to return to your home country, the immigrant loses his or her status and must leave the United States.

See also:

• How to move to Germany for permanent residence?
• Best Countries for Immigration
• Visa-free countries for Russians?
• Purchasing real estate in the EU

Refugee status is very beneficial. Its owners can enjoy significant government support. In principle, a refugee may not have to work at all and still have a fairly decent standard of living. The right to status will have to be proven with documents. If we are talking about countries where there are no wars, but regimes not supported by the United States dominate, you will have to prove the fact of the fight against them. Such evidence may be, for example, articles written by an applicant for refugee status in the press, photographs from anti-government rallies, etc.

Getting an education

A diploma from American universities is prestigious and in demand. You can enroll in a university by arriving in the United States on any visa, or without leaving home at all - remotely. Documents required for a study visa:

• university invitation;
• training contract.

A residence permit is issued in the United States for 1 year. Then it must be renewed annually. By transferring to master's or doctoral studies, you can obtain the right to obtain permanent residence.

other methods

Volunteers of humanitarian missions operating on American soil have the opportunity to obtain a residence permit in the United States for 1 year. Representatives of religious denominations accredited in the United States have the same right. This residence permit must be renewed annually. This requires affiliation with a humanitarian mission or religious denomination.

Some foreigners can obtain a residence permit by decision of federal authorities, such as the CIA. What this requires remains a mystery.

PROCESS OF REGISTRATION OF US RESIDENCE PERMIT:

Without knowing the intricacies of American legislation, you should not purchase real estate or businesses on your own. There is a high risk of falling for scammers. Therefore, you need to choose intermediaries, fortunately, today there is the Internet where you can find any company and reviews about it.

Having chosen a broker, it is worth meeting him in person. Any specialist in this matter has lucrative offers that he will open only face to face. Not everything that is advertised and displayed on various notice boards in newspapers, the Internet and on television is worth paying attention to.

You need to conclude an agency agreement with the intermediary, agree on an introductory tour, draw up a binding contract for the purchase of real estate with the payment of 10 thousand dollars as a deposit. In this case, the property will be removed from sale. And then act in accordance with US law.

How to buy real estate in the USA

It is quite difficult to acquire property abroad, and the difficulties are mainly associated with proper paperwork. That is why independent purchase is undesirable, and the risk of falling into the hands of scammers is quite high. Anyone wishing to buy real estate in the USA is recommended to act through intermediaries - real estate brokers. Keep in mind that the most interesting offers are always not in advertisements, the Internet or newspapers, but in the “pocket” of the seller/broker. This is the so-called Pocket Listing , which you can look into again through an intermediary Russian company or on your own, having knowledge of the English language and having thoroughly rummaged through English-language resources. So, you have decided on an intermediary. The next steps are:

1. Mandatory signing of an agency agreement for the provision of services. Without this document, no transaction can be completed.
2. Selection by the agent of real estate that meets the client’s requirements. An introductory tour is possible.
3. Drawing up a binding contract for the purchase of real estate (Real Estate Purchase contract), transfer of a deposit of $10,000 via bank transfer. This document guarantees that the property you have chosen will be removed from sale and assigned to you.
4. Within 60 days after signing the contract, the bank evaluates the property, submits documents for financing, checks your credit history, and opens a current account with an American bank.
5. A mandatory stage before the final purchase is the so-called Physical Inspection (independent verification), for which a professional is hired. The cost of such a person’s services will cost $350.
6. After all checks, the bank issues a letter of commitment indicating consent to financing (obtaining a mortgage loan).
7. A mandatory condition is a real estate insurance contract.
8. The official closing of the transaction is carried out in the presence of the parties (legal representative) and a notary. On the same day, the transaction is registered in the real estate transactions registration department.

After this you receive all the documents. The process of registering real estate ownership is the same for all types - residential and commercial. After purchase, if there are no restrictions imposed by the Regional Center, the property can be rented, sold, etc. Of course, if you have the required amount of money, then a mortgage loan is not required, and points 4-6 are skipped.

OBTAINING A GREEN CARD BY INVESTMENT - STEPS:

First, the investor submits a foreign entrepreneur application to the Immigration Service. It should contain the following information:

• confirmation of the fact of sending funds to the selected company;
• amount of investment;
• confirmation of the legality of money (income certificates from the tax office);
• a business plan that complies with the job creation law;
• a project for the future development of an enterprise in which the investor has invested.

After the documents are accepted, it can take from a year to a year and a half. Once the application is approved, the investor and family members are interviewed at the United States Embassy located in the country of residence. The result of the interview is a conditional residence permit for 2 years. This residence permit has the following conditions: the funds contribute to the development of the enterprise in these two years, and the investor himself lives in the USA 180 days a year, no less.

When a year and nine months have passed, the investor submits a request to have the conditionality removed from his residence permit. This is done to obtain a permanent residence permit, a green card valid for 10 years.

This request must include information on the following issues:

• on the direction of investment in the enterprise chosen by the investor;
• documents confirming that 10 jobs have been created there;
• accounting reports on the activities of the enterprise for the year and 9 months.

After which you must wait another 15 months for the application to be considered. If everything that the program requires is completed, the businessman and his family receive a permanent residence permit, which opens up the possibility of obtaining US citizenship in 5-7 years.

Documents for obtaining a residence permit

Documents will be different depending on the method of emigration. When applying for a green card based on marriage, the following documents are required:

• photographs together with your spouse;
• documents confirming payment of utilities;
• bank account details of spouses;
• a request to the United States Embassy, ​​which is made by the American spouse;
• documents for real estate, cars, and other expensive property;
• child's birth certificate (if available);
• Marriage certificate;
• medical insurance.

Documents for obtaining a residence permit during employment:

• educational documents, these can be diplomas, certificates, certificates, etc.;
• US employer petition;
• documents of official employment in an existing organization;
• salary certificate.

In case of marriage registration:

• application in the prescribed form;
• copy of Form I-94;
• a copy of the birth certificate;
• passport with a note indicating a valid visa;
• receipt of payment of state duty;
• photos;
• applicant's biography;
• certificate of absence of serious diseases;
• confirmation of your financial autonomy.

Most Frequently Asked Questions and Answers:

What are the advantages of a residence permit in the United States?
Foreigners living in the United States are blessed with such benefits as a friendly cultural environment, high quality education, medicine and services, high wages, and low food prices. This country has developed its own unique culture that has spread throughout the world and a leading currency system. Based on this, there are many people who want to purchase a residence permit in the United States of America. Currently there is an EB-5 designed for investors who plan to obtain US citizenship to continue their activities.

What are the benefits of the EB-5 program for investors in the US?

To obtain a US residence permit through investment, neither special education nor experience in conducting business is required. You can use any legal sources of funds for deposits. This could be a gift, profit from your own business, or inherited capital. It is not necessary to learn English to live in America. An investor can live in any state of his choice without being tied to the regional location of the companies in which he invests. Anyone who has received a US residence permit can count on US citizenship after 5 years of permanent residence in the States. Children under 21 years of age can be included in the document.

What are the ways to obtain EB-5?

To obtain future US citizenship, an investor must invest at least $1.5 million in opening a new company in the state. The minimum amount is reduced to $900,000 if the business is located in a rural area, small town with low population density, or in a region with high unemployment. The investor must hire at least 10 full-time employees with a high level of qualifications.

To contribute to the country’s economy, an investor can donate funds not only to the development of private business, but also invest in the Regional Center project. This type of investment greatly simplifies the task of obtaining a residence permit for investors, since the RC takes full responsibility for preparing the necessary documents and independently contacts the migration services. The minimum amount for a deposit is $900 thousand. The investor is required to hire at least 10 part-time workers.

To obtain a US residence permit by investing, you should contact an intermediary and enter into an agency agreement with him. Otherwise, the risk of running into scammers increases. Then you need to apply to the Immigration Service for a green card.

How to choose the direction of investment needed to obtain a residence permit in the USA?

Income from investments directly depends on the development potential of the company, which you need to be able to predict. The cost of commercial real estate depends on proximity to big cities, the development of the area and the scale of the enterprise. It is enough to invest a million dollars in a small roadside store, a supermarket will require 2.5 million dollars, the amount of investment in a large shopping center reaches 5 million dollars. The cost of investing in a hotel depends on the specific state in which it is located. In California, the amount of investment in a hotel will reach 10 million; in Washington, 1 million will be enough.

Standard steps

Obtaining a residence permit in the States can be divided into several steps, which are mandatory. Of course, these steps will vary depending on the type of method. Since there are a lot of such methods, first you need to decide on standard steps that are suitable for all methods.

• The first step for all methods will be to collect the documents required for a visa, which makes it possible to enter America. For Russians, there is the opportunity to take part in a diversification program, which allows them to win the Green Card lottery. Registration in a project can also be the first step towards obtaining a residence permit.
• When collecting documents for a visa, the applicant needs to select the type of visa. This will determine the method that will help the foreigner receive all the benefits of the Green Card.
• Arrival in America with prepared documents. In the United States, a foreigner will have the opportunity to apply for a Green Card, as prescribed by Immigration and Nationality Law. The application can be accompanied by the necessary supporting documents. The documents will also be modified in accordance with the selected method.
• Making a positive decision to transfer a Green Card to a foreigner. The decision is made by the director of national intelligence and can last several months, because all the information provided is very carefully checked.