Comparing the United States H-2B and EB5 Immigrant Investor Visas
The fifth preference employment based visa (EB5) was created in 1990 as a way for foreign investors to gain United States permanent residency (and eventual citizenship if desired), through an investment in a new or pre-existing American business that sees the creation of at least 10 new full-time jobs for American workers. The H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Worker visa is described by the government's website as being a visa which "allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs." In this article we will take a closer look at the H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Worker visa and the EB5 Immigrant Investor Visas to see how their paths to a Green Card Visa compare and contrast.
H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers: This visa is described by the government's website as follows: "The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs.A U.S. employer must file a Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, on a prospective worker's behalf."
Qualifications: To qualify for H-2B nonimmigrant classification:
The employer must establish that its need for the prospective worker's services or labor is temporary, regardless of whether the underlying job can be described as permanent or temporary. The employer's need is considered temporary if it is a one-time occurrence, a seasonal need, a peak-load need, or an intermittent need
The employer must demonstrate that there are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the temporary work
The employer must show that the employment of H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers
Generally, a single, valid temporary labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), or, in the case where the workers will be employed on Guam, from the Governor of Guam, must be submitted with the H-2B petition. (Exception: an employer is not required to submit a temporary labor certification with its petition if it is requesting H-2B employment in a position for which the DOL does not require the filing of a temporary labor certification application)
H-2B Eligible Countries List -
Effective January 19, 2010, nationals from the following countries are eligible to participate in the H-2B Program: Argentina, Australia, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Uruguay.
EB5 Immigrant Investor Visa - In stark contrast to the H-2B visa, lays the EB5 Immigrant Investor Visa. According to the government's web page, to qualify for the EB5 Visa Program you must:
1) Invest or be in the process of investing at least $1,000,000. If your investment is in a designated targeted employment area (A Targeted Employment Area is defined by law as "a rural area or an area that has experienced high unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average.) then the minimum investment requirement is $500,000.
2) Benefit the U.S. economy by providing goods or services to U.S. markets.
3) Create full-time employment for at least 10 U.S. workers. This includes U.S. citizens, Green Card holders (lawful permanent residents) and other individuals lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. (however it does not include you (the immigrant), or your spouse, sons or daughters).
4) Be involved in the day-to-day management of the new business or directly manage it through formulating business policy - for example as a Limited Partner, corporate officer or board member.
We see in this comparison that despite the H-2B and EB5 immigrant investor visas both relying on certain job based requirements; the two are very different in nature and offer disparate paths to a green card visa.
