US Immigration Fund Looks At Creating New Age Indian Investors

by Shrutee K/DNS

In a strategic move that is aimed at creating a new brand of Indian investors the U.S Immigration Fund has decided to set up initial offices in Indian cities, to include both Mumbai and Delhi. Nicholas A. Mastroianni II, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the multi-billion dollar U.S. Immigration Fund believes that India is fast catching up with China in creating investors who believe in expanding businesses overseas.

Mastroianni, who is the co-founder of USIF, believes that India will be a significant country for EB-5 visas given its 1.3 billion population with fairly large and growing middle and upper class that is highly educated and represents a sophisticated demographic. “Over the last 8 years the usage of EB-5 visas from native Chinese citizens has grown more than 2,000%, accounting for 77% of the 10,000 EB-5 visas issued per year. Given India’s similar demographic profile as China, USIF believes India will be the second largest user of the Employment Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) category in just one year,” says Nicholas Mastroianni.

The EB-5 program was created by the US Congress in 1990 to enable high-net-worth foreign investors to obtain a U.S. visa by investing in a U.S. business in a manner that would benefit the U.S economy by creating jobs. To qualify under the EB-5 program, the foreign investor has to invest $1 million in a qualified new commercial business. The amount is reduced to $500,000 if the new commercial business is located in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA).

“What the U.S. Immigration Fund (USIF) does is completely simplify the process. We provide the solution by organizing and managing new commercial businesses into which a foreign investor can invest for the purpose of obtaining a U.S. Visa under the EB-5 Program. An experienced team of real estate developers, commercial lenders, construction, finance, legal and marketing professionals lead the company and help foreign investors put their money in a commercial businesses pool that make loans to or investments into a development project that will create permanent U.S. jobs’, explains the CEO of USIF.

Separately, USIF also organizes investment vehicles into which accredited investors, family offices and qualified institutional buyers can invest. Typically, these are structured as preferred equity investments and are attractive to investors seeking to participate in real estate deals with significant potential upside.

Since inception, USIF has raised or is in the process of raising capital for over 24 projects representing nearly $15 Billion in development and $3 Billion in EB-5 funds and is the leader in the EB-5 Regional Center Program, with world-renowned investment opportunities from New York City to Los Angeles, California and over 6,000 clients from across the globe.

Citing numbers, Mastroianni pointed out, “From 1980 to 2016, the Indian immigrant population increased ten-fold, from 206,000 to 2.05 million, roughly doubling every decade. Today, Indian citizens are the top recipients of temporary high-skilled worker H-1B visas, accounting for a significant portion of H-1B petitions approved by USCIS. India is also the second-largest sending country of international students to the United States after China.

The Indian population in the US has surged since the 1990s to become the second-largest immigrant group in the country after Mexicans, and ahead of those born in China.

U.S. Immigration Fund (USIF) organizes and manages new commercial businesses into which sophisticated foreign individuals invest for the purpose of obtaining a U.S. Visa under the EB-5 Program. USIF is a leader in the EB-5 Regional Center Program, with world-renowned investment opportunities from New York City to Los Angeles, California and over 6,000 clients from across the globe.

The benefits of the EB-5 program are easy to see. U.S. businesses receive much needed capital at competitive rates and the foreign investor receives an ownership interest in a U.S. business that will make a loan or investment that affords them an opportunity to qualify for an expedited green card. The EB-5 program has already attracted billions of dollars ($15 billion since 2008) into emerging and expanding American businesses, and continues to provide a low cost, viable source of business financing.

Andrew R Graves, Director of Business Development and Head of India, is leading the expansion into all regions of India. Not to forget the fact that USIF expects to have 250 investors by year end and their expectations have been greatly surpassed. 

The number of Indians applying for the EB-5 program is expected to more than double this year. Because of this growth, USIF will be holding events throughout India in the coming months in cities including Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Mumbai, Hydrebad, and more. These seminars will allow potential investors in India to speak with expert immigration attorneys and regional center representatives as well as hear about specific projects that are currently available to be invested in. To learn more at one of USIF’s upcoming events, RSVP at www.visaeb-5.com/usif-events.