India to experience rise in E5 visa demand ahead of fee hike that is effective on 21st November

DELHI, India - Aug. 1, 2019 - PRLog -- After a lengthy period of anticipation and uncertainty, the US government has confirmed that the new minimum investment level for EB-5 will be $900,000. For the first time since its inception, the EB-5 Program is expected to increase in price on November 21, 2019.

While there are many avenues the industry may look at to delay or alter these changes, there will certainly be a wave of increased I-526 filings over the next four months throughout the world. This is especially true for India, as not only is there an impending price increase, but the visa wait time for Indians is also growing. In spite of the changes, the EB-5 visa remains one of the fastest and most straightforward routes to a Green Card.

Aspiring immigrants seeking to lock in the current $500,000 price should consider acting soon if they are sensitive to the new potential price increase. It takes a US immigration attorney an average of two months to document the source of funds for Indian EB-5 applicants, which narrows the window of time available.

Mark Davies, Global Chairman, Davies & Associates LLC commented, "There is a particular sense of urgency in India where retrogression delays were announced last month. Anyone interested in an EB-5 visa should prepare an application as soon as possible to maximize the chances of locking in the current rate, as well as assure the best possible spot in the queue. The exact length of the retrogression delay in India remains unclear, but we suspect this to be beyond four years, although pending legislation could bring some respite."

The demand for EB-5 has skyrocketed in India in a very short space of time, and the country reached its annual quota of 700 EB-5 visas in June, more than three months before the visa year ends. The 80% increase in the price is less significant than the industry had been expecting. The original plan was to increase the price to $1.35 million to take full account of inflation since the program started in the 1990s. In the end, however, the lower $900,000 figure was chosen in order to maintain the differential between the prices of investment placed in an area of high unemployment and an investment outside of these so-called Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs).

The minimum investment made outside of a TEA is set to increase to $1.8 million from $1 million in November, and the definition of what constitutes a TEA is likely to get stricter.

Website: https://www.usimmigrationadvisor.com/