look news india
A very disappointing and worrying news has emerged for Indian entrepreneurs, businessmen and investors who wish to settle permanently in America and secure the future of their families. America has made a huge and historic increase in the application fees under the popular ‘EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program’. After this new and strict decision, the path to obtaining a Green Card through huge capital investment in America has now become more expensive and difficult, due to which the uneasiness among investors can be clearly seen.
According to new rules issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the fees for many major and mandatory petitions have more than doubled. This changed fee structure will become officially effective from November 30. This sudden change seems to be dashing the wishes of countless Indian families and professionals who had long planned to invest and settle in America.
The EB-5 program, established by the US Congress in 1990, provides foreign investors, their spouses and their dependent children the opportunity to set up commercial enterprises in the US. In return, investors have to create at least 10 full-time jobs for local citizens. Under this process, a minimum investment limit of about $8 lakh has been set in Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or infrastructure projects and $10.5 lakh for other sectors.
Explaining this unexpected increase, USCIS has said that the immigration agency operates entirely on fees paid by applicants rather than relying on money from American taxpayers. According to the agency, this fee increase was necessary to cover the costs of thorough review of the large number of applications, eligibility verification, security and background checks, fraud prevention and administrative operations.
After the implementation of the new rules, there has been a huge jump in the application fees of various categories, which will have a direct impact on the pockets of investors:
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Form I-526 (Standalone Investor): The fee for this application has been directly increased from $3,675 to $7,615.
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Form I-526E (Application through Regional Center): Its fee has been increased from $3,675 to $7,850, which includes a technical fee of $75 and investor integrity fee separately.
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Form I-829 (Application for Removal of Conditions): The fee for this procedure has been increased from $3,750 to $5,000.
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Huge jump in regional center charges: The initial Form I-956 fee has dropped from $17,795 to $44,115 and the Form I-956F fee has dropped to $42,675. Apart from this, the cost of the new Form I-526 brought for amending the old applications will be $ 10,330.
Apart from this, the Integrity Fund payment has also been increased from $10,000 to $11,000 for small centers and from $20,000 to $22,000 for large centers, in which an additional penalty of 10 to 20 percent will also be charged for delay in payment. After these stringent and expensive provisions, getting investment-based permanent residence in America has now become more challenging than before.