Imagine you’re an entrepreneur from Mumbai or a tech professional from Beijing, eager to plant roots in the U.S. You’ve heard about work visas like the H-1B, but the uncertainty of lotteries, employer sponsorship, and long backlogs leaves you uneasy. If you have access to significant capital, the EB-5 investment-based immigrant visa offers an alternative opportunity—one less about competing for a job and more about investing in your future.
Investing to Secure a Green Card
The EB-5 immigrant visa is unique in requiring capital as the path to permanent residency. By investing $1.05 million—or $800,000 in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) such as a rural or high-unemployment region, you can secure permanent residency for yourself, your spouse, and your children under 21. The investment must create at least 10 full-time jobs and be “at-risk,” meaning there’s no guaranteed return. Funds must also come from legal sources, which are closely scrutinized.
What sets EB-5 apart is its flexibility. You don’t need a job offer, a specific degree, or employer sponsorship. Take Priya, who invested $800,000 into a rural hotel project. Within three years, her EB-5 application was approved, and her family settled in the U.S. with green cards, free to work, study, or start a business.
Processing typically takes 3–5 years, but petitioners who invest in TEAs get priority processing, cutting months or years off the timetable. While demand from high-population countries such as China and India creates backlogs, new set-asides for rural, high-unemployment, or infrastructure projects (20%, 10%, and 2% of annual EB-5 visas) help applicants bypass delays. For those with the means, EB-5 is often faster than most other employment-based options.
H-1B: A Temporary Stepping Stone
Now picture Javier, a software engineer from Mexico City with a bachelor’s degree and a job offer from a U.S. firm. The H-1B visa seems like his ticket in. It allows him to work in a specialty occupation such as tech, engineering, healthcare, etc. for up to 6 years, and the opportunity to earn green card sponsorship by his U.S. employer.
The challenge? Only 85,000 H-1B visas are issued annually (20,000 of which are reserved for those with advanced degrees from U.S. universities), and demand always exceeds supply, forcing the annual H-1B lottery. Processing takes 3–9 months, but approval isn’t guaranteed. Even if selected, the H-1B is temporary. Losing his job unfortunately leaves Javier with a short window to find another sponsor or exit the U.S. Switching employers is also possible but, of course, involves some red tape many prospective employers find prohibitive. In addition, with the proclamation that all H-1B visas after September 21, 2025 be accompanied by a $100,000 employer payment, many employers will reassess staffing plans. The H-1B visa program is particularly controversial in the U.S., which makes it susceptible to significant programmatic changes based on politics.
Employment-Based Immigrant-Visas
For those with extraordinary talent or specialized skills, EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 visas are options, but each has rigorous hurdles and require years of waiting for prerequisite procedures even to apply.
Aisha, a renowned physicist from Nigeria, qualifies for EB-1, reserved for individuals with “extraordinary ability,” top academics, or multinational executives. It’s the fastest path to a green card, about eight months, without requiring labor certification or, in some cases, even a job offer. But the bar is sky-high, requiring international recognition such as a Nobel Prize or years of experience in executive leadership with a multinational corporation.
Chen, an engineer from China, is an EB-2 candidate. EB-2 requires an advanced degree, a job offer, employer sponsorship, and a labor certification showing no qualified U.S. workers exists. Some applicants may be able to skip the labor certification but only if their work is deemed by Homeland Security to be in the “national interest.” Processing can take 18 months to four years, but for Indian and Chinese nationals, backlogs can stretch over a decade due to annual limits on the category.
EB-3, for skilled or unskilled workers with full-time job offers, follows a similar route. Processing typically takes over 3.5 years, and applicants from high-population countries also face decade-long backlogs.
Unlike EB-2 or EB-3, EB-5 applicants are able to file their petition and green card application simultaneously. By investing, they gain a parallel route to residency, providing flexibility if employer-sponsored petitions stall.
EB-5 — The Right Choice for Many
Think of your visa strategy like a chess game: you need a strong opening gambit and a practical backup plan. EB-5 can be your endgame if you have the capital. Unlike H-1B, it isn’t temporary. Unlike EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3, it doesn’t require elite talent or employer sponsorship and does not require years of procedural prerequisites to apply. It’s a direct path to permanent residency, offering long-term stability for you and your family.
Through simultaneous processing, applicants and their spouses and children can receive permits to work and travel in-and-out of the U.S. within mere months of filing their application. Many investors file EB-5 alongside another visa to keep options open—working while investing for the future.
In the end, your journey to the U.S. is about more than securing a visa—it’s about building a stable future. EB-5, with its promise of permanent residency and freedom from employer constraints, is a good choice for many. If you have the capital, it’s a move that can confidently secure your family’s future in America.
Carofin, an investment bank and broker-dealer, offers EB-5 investments. It works closely with your immigration and business attorneys, accountants and financial advisors, as well as Regional Centers and other immigration specialists. Please contact us if you have questions at [email protected].
