EB-5 Program for Vietnamese investors is a great opportunity for them to apply for a green card, or permanent residence, in the US. Vietnamese investors, along with their spouses and minor children, are granted permanent residence in the United States through a green card. For investors from Vietnam to be eligible for an EB5 visa, their minimum investment must create 10 full-time American jobs.
Program Overview
Vietnam ranked first among the countries with the highest number of EB5 Visa issued in Fiscal Year 2024 (51,89% of total), as per the January 2024 EB5 Visa issuance data from the United States Department of State (USDOS). EB5 Visa provides Vietnamese investors with the opportunity to send their kids to US colleges and universities and expand their investment opportunities. Currently, there are no delays in EB-5 visa application and processing for Vietnamese investors.
Things to know before Investing
Before investing a fairly large sum in a visa investors have to think about many other things in order to reduce their chances of rejection :
- Timeline: It takes around 2.5 years to legalize the investment and get the green card. Currently there are no backlogs hence the process of investment is easy and does not take a long time.
- Investment Amount: The minimum investment amount for investors is $80,000 (18,936,000,000 Vietnamese Dong) for a targeted employment area.
- Age Limit: There is no restriction based on age. This implies that any investor from Vietnam can become an EB-5 investor. Nevertheless, a minor may not have sufficient assets or income to qualify as an EB-5 investor independently. In such cases, the parents or a legal guardian who provides the investment amount must present the required documents to prove the source of funds. Sometimes, a Vietnamese investor seeking an EB-5 visa may encounter difficulties in obtaining specific documentation. In such situations, the applicant can submit a declaration explaining the reasons for their inability to provide the necessary documentation.
Benefits of EB-5 Program for Vietnamese Investors
Vietnamese investors and their spouses, as well as minor children, benefit from the following:
- Green Card/U.S. Citizenship: The majority of Vietnamese investors for the EB-5 visa are based in Hanoi, with about 80% being from Hanoi. The large influx of Vietnamese into the United States after the fall of communism in Vietnam in the late 70s resulted in a large number of Vietnamese-born Americans immigrating to the US. Many Vietnamese investors and their immigrant relatives are seeking to move to the USA to be closer to their families.
- Education and Lifestyle in US: Vietnamese Investors want their children to grow up in the United States. They want their children to study in the United States and avoid the high education costs of private international schools. Unmarried children under the age of 21 can study at some of the world’s best institutions without facing the restrictions that foreign students face. The children can study at universities in the United States with tuition fees that are up to 150-300% lower than foreign students’ fees. They can also study as a full-time student and avoid long separations from your family just to get a high-quality education.
- More Investment Options: With the EB5 Visa, Vietnamese investors have full freedom to travel anywhere within the United States. They also can transfer business profits from Vietnam to the United States without any problems.
Risks of EB-5 Program for Vietnamese Investors
These are the difficulties that Vietnamese investors face when applying for an EB-5 Visa:
1. Currency restrictions
Vietnam’s legislation controls how Vietnamese currency is exported overseas and hence faces difficulty in transferring funds to the US. Vietnamese investors often use credit institutions as their EB-5 investments. For their EB-5 application, they must provide proof of every deposit made to the credit institution. The credit institution must provide an affidavit showing how the money was transferred from the Vietnamese investor to the U.S. EB-5 investment.
2. Fund sources
Not all qualified sources for EB-5 are available to Vietnamese investors. In Vietnam, the tax system limits the income that can be used as an EB-5 investment fund. Vietnamese investors must prove how the original owner acquired the property they are gifting to them.
3. Immigration Challenge
An EB-5 investment does not guarantee a green card. The investor should fulfill all the said requirements and provide all funds in order to avail the green card benefit.
