EB5 Investors Magazine (English Edition) Volume 5, Issue 1 | Page 67

2016
EB-5 Foreign Direct Investment Origin
Amount ($ m ) 30
Amount ($ m )
Immigrant Visas Issued / Adjusted
Visas 150
25
20
15
10
5
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
120 100 80 60 40
20 0
Fiscal Year *
Amount ($ m )
Market Share
FY Immigrant Visas Issued & Adjustments of Status **
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
$ 3.5 million $ 3 million $ 3.5 million $ 9 million $ 16 million $ 9 million $ 11.5 million $ 27.5 million $ 17 million $ 28.5 million
4.09 % 1.89 % 1.54 % 2.54 % 2.68 % 1.48 % 1.72 % 1.53 % 0.93 % 1.8 %
5 20 19 19 72 62 37 76 87 96
* Federal government fiscal year is October 1 - September 30 ** Visas issued represents visa granted to individuals outside of the United States .
Adjustments of Status represents individuals already in the United States who adjusted their status .
Sources : I-526 Approval Statistics by Country of Birth via Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA ) filed by IIUSA ; U . S . Dept . of State ; U . S . Citizenship and Immigration Services
QUALITY EDUCATION AS DRIVING FORCE FOR INDIAN EB-5 MARKET
The main driver , DeCicco said , is the desire of the younger generation to live in the United States . There doesn ’ t seem to be a lot of pressure from the government or economically that is driving Indians to emigrate , he said .
“ We have found that most people are looking at EB-5 for their children ,” he said . “ Some want their children to be educated in the U . S . and are looking to make the move before their children reach high school age . Others have children who are already attending university in the U . S . and have expressed a desire to stay after graduation .” Rohit Kapuria , an EB-5 securities and immigration attorney at Arnstein & Lehr LLP , agreed , noting that many Indian investors are looking beyond their children ’ s college education .
“ The parents , who are well settled in India , are generally not keen on moving to the U . S .,” Kapuria said . “ They mostly want to give their children the security of work opportunities post-college in the U . S . Given that the H1-B visa is on a lottery basis now , it is getting very difficult for Indian U . S . college grads to work in the US . EB-5 gives them the option .”
More and more , Indian families are sending their college-age children to the U . S ., according to data from the Institute of International Education , a nonprofit organization that promotes and analyzes study-abroad programs . While the flow of Indian students to U . S . colleges has grown consistently over the last 20 years , the number of students originating from India surged in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years , increasing approximately 30 percent and 25 percent , respectively . The number of Indian students in the United States is more than triple what it was two decades ago , placing India second only to China in that respect .
“ Because of the demise of H-1B availability for graduating Indian students , parents are increasingly giving their children the required investment for EB-5 ” said Mark Davies , global managing partner and founder of immigration law firm Davies and Associates , LLC .
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