With entry bans, significantly reduced flight schedules, and mandatory quarantines, immigration during the COVID-19 pandemic is more or less impossible, but immigration to the United States after the pandemic is not only possible, it’s a great idea. For investors worldwide, the EB-5 program is the ideal pathway to a U.S. green card. Here’s why you should still relocate to the United States after COVID-19.
Your U.S. family will still be there.
All the isolation and social distancing of the new COVID-19 era has caused many people to long for more companionship. If you have relatives in the United States who you’d like to reconnect with following the COVID-19 crisis, an EB-5 visa represents an excellent opportunity to spend valuable time with your U.S. family. To maintain your U.S. permanent resident status, you’ll need to spend the majority of your time in the United States, refraining from taking long trips abroad. However, after only five years of permanent residency, you can apply for U.S. citizenship, which grants you the freedom to divide your time between the United States and your birth country as you desire.
U.S. post-secondary education institutes are still the best in the world.
Lists of the most renowned universities in the world are always filled with U.S. colleges, many of which—such as MIT, Stanford, and Harvard—reach the highest ranks. While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced campuses to close and classes to move online in many U.S. schools, U.S. colleges remain some of the most prestigious schools in the world and will continue to issue high-quality degrees after COVID-19.
The EB-5 program is perfect for international students who wish to take full advantage of life in the United States. Not only can an EB-5 visa make gaining admission to a U.S. college easier, but it can also potentially save students thousands in in-state tuition savings. Students with EB-5 visas also have the right to seek employment during their studies without restrictions, just like their U.S. peers.
COVID-19 may not hamper the U.S. economy for that long.
Most recessions are the result of diminished consumer demand, but such is not the case in the COVID-19 pandemic. Though many businesses are struggling to stay afloat during the crisis, the government’s generous aid programs and loans will help many survive this deadly virus and bounce back once people are allowed to leave their homes again. The pandemic could also spur the growth of particular industries, such as health care, technology, and online businesses.
The economy may be rife with lucrative investment opportunities following the crisis.
The conclusion of the pandemic may be the right time to jump on the housing market. With the real estate market shrouded in uncertainty, buyers and investors may secure irresistible deals on houses and properties.
The post-coronavirus era could also bring good news for EB-5 investors. The employment landscape of the United States could shift dramatically, driving up unemployment rates in hard-hit areas such as New York City. Such shifts would mean that many more areas of the United States could qualify as targeted employment areas (TEAs), which would permit EB-5 investors to invest a lower minimum investment amount.
The EB-5 program is still going strong amidst COVID-19.
While the coronavirus pandemic has forced the closures of all U.S. embassies and consulates and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has shut its doors to the public, the processing of EB-5 applications continues. In fact, I-526 petitions may even be processed faster than average, since USCIS now has more time to focus on adjudication.