There are five ways a foreigner can hope to obtain permanent residency (colloquially dubbed a “greencard”) through employment in the United States. Based on the statutory provisions from which these immigration categories derive, they range from EB-1 to EB-5.


Under the EB-5 program, a foreigner can obtain a conditional greencard by investing a minimum of US$1,000,000 (US$500,000 if the investment project is located in a Targeted Employment Area) to create a new business or invest in an existing business with the promise to create 10 new U.S. jobs by the end of the 2.5 year mark of the approval of the conditional greencard petition, called the I-526. If the investor is investing in an existing business, the infusion of capital must create 10 additional jobs to the jobs that already exist.
外国人可以通过5种基于工作的移民签证合法移民美国获得永久居留权(俗称为“绿卡”)。这些工作类移民签证根据法律规定被划分为EB-1到EB-5五种类型。


根据EB-5投资移民项目的规定,外国投资人及其配偶和21周岁以下未婚子女可通过在美国投资最低100万美元(或在目标就业区域的项目投资50万美元)获得附条件的临时绿卡,但前提是,外国投资人必须以上述投资创立一家新的商业实体或投资到一家已存在的商业实体,并承诺在临时绿卡申请(即I-526 申请)批准后的2年半以内创造10个新的就业岗位。如果投资人投资的是一家已经存在的商业实体,那注入的资金需要在已有的工作岗位基础上额外新增10个就业岗位。


在投资人及其符合条件的家庭成员以临时绿卡首次进入美国之日起算两年中的最后三个月,他们必须提交第二个移民申请,即I-829申请,以解除其临时绿卡上的附加条件。提交I-829申请将自动将申请人现有绿卡的期限延长一年。而I-829申请的批准将赋予投资人及其符合条件的家庭成员永久绿卡。