A London-based legal firm is hosting a seminar in Dublin this month on how a US "green card" may be acquired through a minimum property investment in the US of $500,000. Mary Carolan reports.
The seminar, run by Robinson O'Connell Ltd, will be held on September 19th, with admission through ticket only.
While no senior person from the legal firm could be contacted by The Irish Times yesterday, its website states that those who want to live in the US but "don't want to be onstrained by the usual visa restrictions" should consider the EB-5 visa.
It describes the EB-5 visa as a "job-creation visa based on investment" which requires a minimum sum of $500,000. "Those with the funds or the collateral have a direct route to permanent US residency."
The website outlines that new visa rules mean investors can secure a Green Card by purchasing commercial property in regional centres approved by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).
Investors have two options. They can invest in a trading activity and, to qualify, the company has to be based in a "targeted employment area", otherwise the investment amount rises to $1 million. They must also show the investment will employ 10 people.
A second option, advocated for those who wish to retire to the US, is to invest a minimum $500,000 in an area designated specifically for immigrant investors.
The website states that complying with EB-5 regulations is "not easy", and most seeking a passive investment use structured immigrant investor schemes, which tend to be managed by commercial properties.
While EB-5 visas were introduced in 1991, there were some problems with the regional centre aspect. The USCIS introduced revised rules which were the subject of litigation. The US courts ultimately declared those revised rules could not be applied to pre-1998 investments.