By Nicholas A. Mastroianni, III
Over the last few years, India has become the second largest EB-5 investor market in the world. The EB-5 program is a residency by investment program that provides a direct path to U.S. permanent residency for foreign investors who invest a minimum of $800,000 in a qualifying project and create at least 10 jobs in the U.S.
Indian investors have been taking advantage of this program for years, with a steady increase in EB-5 applications in the past 12 months. Not only does it open doors for residency within the U.S. for the investor, his or her spouse, and unmarried children under 21, it also provides a potential return on their investment capital.
The additional benefits to the program such as concurrent filing as well as U.S. Immigration Fund’s investor financing program make it the perfect time for Indian applicants to invest in an available EB-5 project.
If you are an investor in India looking to secure a better future for yourself and your family, recent changes have made timing key. There are five time-sensitive reasons why you need to invest in the EB-5 program now.
USCIS is proposing to increase filing fees for the EB-5 program as soon as April 2023. USCIS has proposed raising filing fees for I-526E Petitions for conditional residency to $11,160 (an increase of roughly 200%) and I-829 removal of conditions to $9,525 (an increase of roughly 150%). Therefore, filing a petition before the new fee increases takes place would be the only way to avoid these additional fees and save you thousands of dollars on the overall cost of an EB-5 investment.
The Indian Central Bank recently introduced an increase of its transfer tax, presenting new regulations that will require an upfront 20% Tax Collected at Source (TCS) for any international investment. This increase (up from 5%) will impact investors seeking to transfer funds overseas. This increase is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2023 and will result in a substantial increase to the initial sum required for EB-5 investments. This could result in an additional $120,000 USD in taxes for EB-5 investors. However, the most guaranteed way to avoid the 20% TCS is by initiating transfer of your funds before the announced deadline of July 1, 2023.
Indian investors can remit up to $250,000 per financial year for investments under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS), which is applicable for EB-5 purposes. The financial year ends in March, meaning investors should consider taking advantage of their $250,000 LRS limit before the end of the fiscal year on March 31, 2023. Subject to taxes, an investor or their family members can lawfully remit funds by making one $250,000 transfer by March 31 and another $250,000 starting April 1 to be able to get out the total investment amount.
Investors can now take advantage of U.S. Immigration Fund’s (USIF) industry-leading investor financing program, which allows for a minimum investment of $500,000 USD and creates flexibility for investors to obtain a loan of up to $300,000 USD facilitated by U.S. Immigration Fund. This is an approved source of funds to meet USCIS requirements.
One key development under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 was the creation of “reserved” residency visas for new EB-5 investors. Reserved visas are not subject to any visa waiting lists presently, thereby enabling new EB-5 investors to jump to the front of the line over EB-5 investors who submitted applications in 2019-2021. All of U.S. Immigration Fund’s available EB-5 projects are eligible for reserved visas because they are located in Targeted Employment Areas.
(Author is President and Chief Marketing Officer, U.S. Immigration Fund)
Article from: https://www.financialexpress.com/business/investing-abroad-5-reasons-why-indian-eb-5-investors-need-to-invest-quickly-3025456/
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