Press Release

With the relaunch of the United States EB-5 golden visa, Indian residents in the United Arab Emirates and neighboring Gulf countries can now benefit from faster processing of their U.S. Green Cards.

What Is the U.S. Golden Visa?

Families residing in the GCC can obtain their U.S. Green Cards by virtue of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which was first introduced by the U.S. government in 1990 as a way to inject foreign capital in the U.S. economy and boost job creation in exchange for U.S. residency and Green Cards for foreign investors. A family, composed of the main applicant, spouse, and children under 21 years of age, can qualify for the U.S. golden visa by way of an investment of $800,000 in a qualifying government pre-approved real estate project. The investment is returned to the family after approximately five years of benefiting the U.S. economy.

A Green Card allows families to live, work, and freely travel in the United States. The EB-5 program provides a solid pathway to obtaining U.S. citizenship. The U.S. golden visa provides a fast track route for families to pursue the American dream, which is the promise of freedom, prosperity, and access to vast opportunities.

New Changes to the U.S. Golden Visa

The U.S. Congress modernized the EB-5 program through passage of new legislation called the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) in March 2022. The RIA implemented a number of positive changes to the EB-5 program, including but not limited to introducing a new category of reserved U.S. golden visas called visa set asides.

The new EB-5 legislation expanded the EB-5 program through the launch of three new visa categories, called reserved visas or visa set asides. The new EB-5 legislation provides that of the 10,000 U.S. golden visas available for the EB-5 program in any given fiscal year, 10% are reserved for applicants who invest in high unemployment areas, 20% are reserved for applicants who invest in rural areas, and 2% are reserved for applicants who invest in infrastructure projects.

Because the program places an annual cap on each country, nationalities with large populations, such as Indians, are subject to retrogression under the previous category of unreserved visas, meaning that processing applications for this nationality are slowed down and backlogged due to the large number of applicants. China for example, has a tremendous amount of applicants and to allow all other nationalities the ability to access the visa program, the U.S. government in turn has slowed down the review of Chinese applications.

With the introduction of the new reserved visa categories, nationalities that had previously been subject to backlogs are no longer facing long wait times. As evident by the November 2022 Visa Bulletin published by the Department of State, visas are currently available for all foreign investors that apply for the reserved visas (i.e., rural areas, high unemployment areas, and infrastructure projects). This means that applicants such as Indian nationals can benefit from faster processing of their U.S. golden visas by submitting their EB-5 applications under one of the new visa set aside categories. “We have had a surge in the number of Indian applicants reaching out to us for more information on the visa set asides as this new category is a savior for Indian nationals looking to gain access to the U.S.,” says Shai Zamanian, Founder and Legal Director of The American Legal Center, the preeminent U.S. golden visa experts in the region. “Those who act quickly in filing their applications will benefit most from these new visa set asides.”

Apply Through The American Legal Center

The American Legal Center is the leading immigration consultancy in Dubai providing active guidance to families pursuing the U.S. Green Card through the EB-5 program. As an EB-5 thought leader in the GCC, The American Legal Center regularly hosts complimentary seminars on the EB-5 program and its benefit for families in the GCC. This team of U.S. licensed lawyers and professionals is hosting their next seminar on Sunday, November 13 at the Address Sky View in Downtown Dubai at 3:00 pm. To start your migration journey to the U.S., reserve your spot for the upcoming seminar by contacting +971 50 938 6092 or media@america.ae.