EB-5, the United States visa program, that enables foreign investors to obtain a U.S. Visa by investing in a business that will benefit the U.S. economy and create jobs, is becoming an increasingly popular option for Indian nationals who seek permanent residence in the United States. Although its total market share at 5 percent remains small, it surpassed Vietnam as the second largest EB-5 investor market in FY2017.
Invest In The USA recently published a data report, 2018 EB-5 Investor Market Analysis: India and United Arab Emirates, based on data supplied by U.S.-CIS, and the U.S. Department of State.
–> Significant Increase in Number of Petitions
A total of 587 I-526 petitions that were filed by Indian investors in FY2017, is close to 600 percent of the total number of petitions filed by Indian investors in 2014. However, compared to the total of 12,165 I-526 petitions filed worldwide in FY2017, this number is small.
–> Significant Increase in Number of Visa Usage:
A total of 585 EB-5 visas in FY2018 were used by applicants from India, which is a 236 percent increase from FY 2017. This is the highest year-over-year growth among the top EB-5 investor markets, including China, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, and Brazil.
–> Significant Increase in Number of High Net Worth Individuals in India:
Based on the Asian-Pacific Wealth Report 2018 by Capgemini, India’s high-net-worth-individual population grew by 20 percent from 2016 to approximately 263,000 in 2017, which is the highest among all APAC countries.
–> The Inited States is the Second Most Popular Migration Destination for Indian Nationals:
According to data published by Pew Research Center, the United States is the second most popular migration destination for Indian migrants in 2017, just behind United Arab Emirates. Due to the growing number of Indian-born EB-5 applicants, Charles Oppenheim, chief of Visa Control and Reporting Division, U.S. Department of State, indicated that EB-5 visa backlogs for Indian nationals will likely be introduced by June 2019, and it remains to be seen how the visa backlog will affect the Indian EB-5 market.
