Every year, thousands of foreign nationals relocate to America. It is no doubt the land of opportunity. The annual U.S. Lawful Permanent Residence (LPR) flow has exhibited a general upward trend since 1945; increasing from an average of 250,000 new LPRs per year during the 1950s to over 1,000,000 since 1999. A total of 1,051,031 individuals were granted LPR status in 2015, an increase of 3.4 percent from 2014.

The U.S. is the largest consumer market in the world, opening up a wide range of career, business, and education opportunities. Individuals looking to either build their life from an education perspective or through job opportunities, seek to move to America where they can choose from many options to help them sustain their hard-work to date.

In order to migrate to the U.S., an individual must obtain a visa (work, travel, business, education) or Green Card. The U.S. Federal Government has welcomed many legal immigrants for work, education, travel or even permanent residency in the past and continues to do so through various immigrant visa programs. H-1B, F-1 and L-1 visas require a justification /support from a U.S. entity for processing, while the EB-5 visa depends solely upon the investor’s application and the program’s requirements. The other distinction between the first three visas and an EB-5 Visa is that while other visas provide a temporary permit to reside in the U.S. with many restrictions, the EB-5 visa program is a permanent residency program that enables an individual to secure a Green Card.

H-1B

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits the temporary employment of foreign nationals. However, even though the H-1B is a favored choice among many Indians who relocate to the US for employment opportunities, it is dependent on a sponsorship from the immigrant’s employer. The application process for this category of visa always exceeds its allotted quota. Therefore, acquiring an H-1B visa, even after securing sponsorship, poses a significant challenge to those who wish to stay long-term in the country, given the maximum stay of six years. As per recent statistics, only one-out-of-three Indian applicants receive an H-1B visa on average, leaving the majority of Indians without a visa.

Further more, with the Trump administration’s recent changes to U.S. immigration policies, it has become even more difficult to obtain an H1-B visa.

F-1

An F-1 visa enables international students to relocate to the US on a temporary basis in pursuit of educational opportunities at U.S. schools and universities. F-1 visa-holders must attend and maintain a full-time student status while in the U.S. Additionally, they must provide valid proof to the U.S. government that they will be able to support themselves, and manage their expenses throughout their stay. This can be a challenge, as employment opportunities for emigrant students with an F-1 visa are limited in comparison to those afforded to American students.

While other visas provide a temporary permit to reside in the U.S. with many restrictions, the EB-5 visa program is a permanent residency program that enables an individual to secure a Green Card.

L-1

L-1 visas are provided to employees of international firms who have offices in the U.S. and other countries around the world. This visa allows employees of these companies to relocate to the U.S. for work on a temporary basis, after working in the corporation’s offices abroad for one whole year. An L-1 visa is valid for a short duration of time and varies for employees from different countries. The L-1 visa for an Indian national can be granted for a maximum of five years (based on certain criteria), and can be extended up to a maximum of seven years.

L-1 also allows spouses of the visa-holder to work in the U.S. with no restrictions once the employment authorization document is granted. It can also be used as the first step to applying for a U.S. Green Card with reference to the doctrine of dual intent.

EB-5 (Green Card via investment)

Most High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs) who are aware of the merits and requirements of the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program prefer to take this route, as it provides the most efficient and predictable path towards a Green Card. In order to obtain a Green Card via the EB-5 investment program, HNIs from around the world are required to invest a minimum amount of $500,000 in Target Employment Areas (TEA) in the U.S. This investment must create at least ten jobs for American citizens. The program is beneficial for both the immigrants and their families (unmarried children under the age of 21) who also obtain permanent residence after the EB-5 requirements have been met.

The most attractive aspect of this program is that there is currently no waiting list for Indian applicants; how ever, this quota could be an issue in the coming years. Therefore, the approval rating for an EB-5 visa is higher than all other visas, and especially the H-1B visa program. Also, EB-5 does not require the applicant to have any special skills or gain sponsorship from employers. The green card via the EB5 investment program enables an immigrant to live freely like an American citizen and travel without restrictions to and from the U.S.

The EB-5 visa program is incredibly beneficial for international students who aspire to study and work in the U.S. It offers a better chance of acceptance to leading U.S. universities, lower tuition cost, lower student loan rates, and more security and opportunities when applying for jobs. All the benefits come without the anxiety accompanying the lottery-based H-1B visa.