Amidst the heat of the dramatic downfall in approvals of H1B visa under the Trump administration, it turned out that deep pocketed and the ones who can afford, shifted their way towards applying for EB-5 visas to obtain permanent residency in US.
However, with the increase in waiting period for the EB-5 visa for USA increasing to nearly seven years, Indians are now eyeing for a different route into the country, which they have successfully found.
Indians are now touting for the E-2 visa route as their ticket to the American shores. Learn more about it.
Problems with E-5 Visa
Before plunging into the fact of Indians now switching to E-2 visa, we feel that its important for you to understand what went wrong with the much appreciated EB-5 visas. Not that it was flawed, E-2 visa simply has ore benefits than the former.
The US government has announced the new minimum investment limit for the EB-5 visa programme to be $900,000 for target employment areas, while the minimum investment outside of these areas is set to increase to $1.8 million. This change is expected to be applicable from November 21, 2019.
As the demand for EB-5 has increased, there is a long wait-list of eligible Indians. This visa promises a green card to immigrants, in exchange of investing at least $500,000 (about Rs. 3.5 crore) in a government approved commercial business that creates at least 10 US jobs.
The main reason for Indians fleeing in masses towards applying for this visa was that the applicant could get a green card in just 18-24 months. However, the USCIS allocates only 10,000 of these EB-5 visas each year to immigrants and their families.
Also, for a family of five to issue an EB-5 visa, an individual will have to spend almost $4.5 million.
E-2 Visa: How It Works?
The E-2 visa is a non-immigration programme under which an individual can set up a business and work in the US at an investment of $100,000. The process of getting an E-2 visa is simpler too. Simply speaking, an individual will have to apply for a Grenada passport, which would take 3-6 months and then apply for an E-2 visa.
The E-2 visa is all about setting up a business in the US. If the business is big enough in the future, this visa can be converted into a green card. Family members can also be eligible to be dependents under the E-2 visa.
However, once the child of the applicant reaches the age of 21 years, they’ll need to apply for a separate visa. For a family of five, an individual will have to spend $600,000-700,000 for an E-2 visa.
Not just this, once you get the passport, spend $600,000-700,000 for an E-2 visa. Another reason why Indians are preferring the Grenadian route is because this passport lets you to travel Europe, China, UK, Russia, Singapore and UAE, visa-free.
The biggest drawback of this visa is that you don’t become a US citizen through an E-2 visa but individuals get the right to live and work in the United States for almost their entire life. Last year, less than 5 Indians had applied for E-2. The number this year has risen to about 30-40 Indians.
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