To attract foreign capital, the American government enacted the investment immigration law (EB-5)in 1990, which encourages foreign investors to permanently reside in the United States. Recently, to further promote investment immigration, the American government has sped up the processing procedures for investment immigration, so that qualified investors and their families (spouses and children) can obtain a green card within a year. Two years later, they can receive a permanent green card, assuming they pass the review process. This shortcut in the investment immigration process stems from the fact that the annual quota for investment immigration (10,000 visa) far surpasses the actual demand (about 300 on average annually), so that all foreigners who qualify for investment immigration (regardless of their nationality) do not need to wait. Along with convenience and speed, investment immigration has no requirements with regard to investors’ personal experiences and professional skills. You can become an investment immigration applicant with no concerns as to your investment experience, English language abilities, national passports, and enterprise management experiences, so long as your investment capital comes from legitimate sources.

Originally, the three basic requirements for the investment immigration application (EB-5) were as follows: 1.The applicant must invest in a for-profit business. 2. The minimum investment capital is US $1 million (or half a million for investments in specified special districts) 3. The investment must create ten job opportunities for American citizens or permanent residents in the U.S

For years, the requirements for investment immigration to America have been considered quite high, with the threshold amount for direct investment set at US $1 million and the additional requirement of creating 10 job opportunities in the subsequent five years. In addition, in America, employers have to guarantee their employees’ minimum wage apart from paying all kinds of taxes according to the law. The risk of independently starting up new enterprises is relatively high if the investor is lacking knowledge and experience of the American market. In addition, many capital investors are reluctant to give up their own already mature and profitable businesses in other countries, and they fear they would not able to manage their businesses well in both their own countries and in the United States if they invest in America.

Special Economic Districts

Presently, based on the EB-5 program, the American government has established a special district immigration program. The major advantages of this initiative are the reduction of capital investment from US $1 million to half a million, and the change of the direct creation of 10 job opportunities”requirement to one of "the permissible indirect creation of 10 job opportunities.” With this program, the advantages are obvious since investors no longer need to start businesses in America in person, and the amount of investment capital has been halved.

On December 10th, 2003, American president Bush formally signed the law granting the Immigration Bureau more flexible policies for special economic district investment immigration. On the average, an investor can obtain the approval from the American Immigration Bureau within two to three months, and receive a green card within eight to ten months. The basic investment capital is US $500,000 for this program. Each year, the American capital investment immigration quota is 10,000, of which 3,000 can go to investors choosing to create job opportunities in selected areas and 5,000 for those choosing investment in special economic districts. The American government has also created a listing of priority projects and offered special benefits for investors interested in these projects. Investors only need to input the capital and can receive dividends in accordance with actual management conditions. Investors do not need to personally participate in management of the investment, or reside long-term in the invested areas, so they can choose to live in a place of their own liking. In addition, investors do not need to directly hire ten employees; they only need to prove that they can directly or indirectly create ten job opportunities. In practice, after receiving investment applications for these government-granted projects, the government will ask experts for an appraisal to determine if the particular investment meets the requirement of creating ten job opportunities. Generally, investors in these specially granted projects can enjoy greater freedom and flexibility, with fewer requirements and restrictions.