The United States is the most sought-after destination in the world – by both HNWIs and regular families who want the best possible life for their children. Fortunately, everyone has a direct to Green Card option for acquiring their own American Dream – the EB–3 or EB-5 Visa Program.
In late 2024, UBS published its Billionaire Ambitions Report, which told the world what my colleagues and I already knew: HNW families are undertaking the most significant exodus in recent history – from virtually all corners of the globe to the United States.
One of the biggest media stories on this topic was Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt, who, in light of the coming era of Trump 2.0, has packed his bags and is relocating from Down Under to the Land of the Free.
Pratt is part of the new and unprecedented surge of HNWIs and regular working families either moving to the US with Green Card residency or trying to figure out how to do it.
There is no secret as to how anyone can acquire a Green Card and permanent US residency. You simply must be willing to make the investment – which ranges from the average price of a new car to nearly 7 digits; it depends upon the visa program.
Yeah, so there is an option for nearly any family looking to secure their own American Dream.
What is the American Dream?
The construct of the American Dream is legendary and epic, but what does it mean?
Can only US citizens acquire the American Dream?
The answer to the second question is most important – NO.
The American Dream is not proprietary to United States citizens. Anybody in the world who is willing to put in the work has a right and the ability to secure their own version of the American Dream.
In fact, that is precisely what the Employment-Based Visa programs are designed for.
The definition of the modern American Dream is genuinely a fluid concept – it means what you want it to mean.
It is unique to every entrepreneur, father and mother, college graduate, first-generation immigrant, and US citizen with dreams to be the next [fill in the blank].
America shall never forget one man’s version of the American Dream, as it echoes to this day in virtually every nook and crevice of US culture:
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
While the American Dream is often thought to be about monetary success, in reality, it was never generally accepted to be that.
It has always been about being the best that you can be and guaranteeing the same opportunity for one’s posterity – your enduring legacy for your bloodline.
That is the contemporary nature of the American Dream, which is precisely what can be achieved with the EB-3 and EB-5 visa programs.
The United States Employment-Based Visas
The United States offers five employment-based visas (EB visas), called preferences:
- EB-1 = Researchers of extraordinary ability
- EB-2 = Subject Matter Experts in select industries
- EB-3 – Work visa/Green Card [all workers]
- EB-4 – Criminal Informants & other special information providers
- EB-5 – Golden Visa/Investor Visa
Preferences 1 and 2 are extraordinarily challenging to acquire and require some form of official US government sponsorship.
Preference 4, well, that one speaks for itself, but has recently been used following the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
The USCIS offered Afghan translators who worked with US Special Forces this visa to bring their families to the US as a reward for their work.
The only EB visa options that are now permitted to be approved for non-official applicants are the EB-3 [unskilled worker] and the EB-5 [HNW investors] – I offer both options to my clients.
The EB-3 – Green Card Work Visa Program
The EB-3 grants a US Green Card to anyone who wants to live and work in the United States wishing to pursue their own American Dream.
To succeed, EB-3 applicants must have a valid job offer for an approved job when the EB-3 application is submitted and subsequently approved.
Within the EB-3 program, there are three distinct categories of jobs/workers:
- Professional
- Skilled
- Unskilled/All workers
While the EB-3 program officially permits applications for skilled and professional roles [think lawyer, engineer, and electrician], applications for these categories are suspended indefinitely. Thus, applications submitted for them are no longer being approved.
Why? The reason is simple – partisan politics.
The Democrats want to eliminate college debt as Americans state they cannot repay their loans as there are no high-paying jobs.
Republicans are absolutely opposed to eliminating this debt, and to ensure that Americans can repay these loans, they have revived the old policy that American companies must hire US citizens and US Green Card holders instead of sponsoring immigrant workers for skilled and professional roles.
Thus, the US government now requires companies to prove that no legal US residents are available for any job that would be categorized as skilled or professional.
Understand the legal language – legal US residents.
This means Green Card holders or citizens anywhere in the United States, not simply in the city where the job is located or even the state but in the entire country – yeah, proving that is impossible.
So, the only category being approved is unskilled/all workers – think regular jobs. Not to worry, though, if you are a lawyer, engineer, or electrician, it is not what you are thinking. We have created a program with options.
We built the best EB-3 program in the world, as we provide the client with everything – we handle the entire EB-3 application process and already have the job for our client.
That’s right; our price includes the approved job.
More good news: the EB-3 program does not prohibit skilled Green Card-holding professionals who are now in the United States from changing to any job they want, including a skilled professional role.
Once our client’s EB-3 application is approved, everyone on the application is issued a visa by the US embassy to fly to the United States.
On arrival at the US airport, our clients are officially issued their US Green Cards – their American Dream begins immediately!
Our clients walk out of that US airport with their Green Cards.
It’s as straightforward as that, but there is more.
Approved EB-3 visa holders are not required to remain in the approved job permanently; they are Green Card/US permanent residents and are 100% legally permitted to:
- Look for a new job [as a lawyer, engineer, electrician, etc.]
- Work at a family or friend’s business
- Become an entrepreneur and open their own business
- Become a real estate investor and start flipping houses
- Go to university instead of working, etc.
Once in the United States, the successful EB-3 applicant is now a Green Card holder and is free to begin crafting their American Dream as they envision it – no government permission or notification is required.
This is what our EB-3 program is designed and built for – empowering professionals and skilled workers to get their US Green Card so they can embark on securing their own version of the American Dream.
Our program secures an approved job for our client, and we then fully assist our clients through the entire EB-3 process.
Once in the United States, it’s your chance to build the life you dream of.
Who can be added to the EB-3 application?
The main applicant can add immediate family members to the EB-3 application for an additional per-dependent fee.
Under the EB-3 rules, eligible dependents include their spouse and children [under 21 at the time of the embassy interview].
Once the EB-3 application is approved, all applicants [everyone listed on the EB-3 application] receive Green Cards – only the main applicant needs an approved job.
The EB-3 starts at $45,000 [plus taxes, fees, etc.] for a single applicant, and the price increases with each eligible dependent – approximate total costs would be [as of late 2024]:
- Single applicant – $49,500
- Married couple – $52,500
- Family of 3 – $55,500
- Family of 4 – $58,500
Remember, this price includes the approved job and the entire EB-3 application process.
Payments are made in three installments over 14 months.
The total estimated processing time from application submission to approval is about 18 months [as of late 2024].
The EB-5 Investor Visa – The US Golden Visa
While the EB-3 is a work visa, the EB-5 is America’s Golden Visa.
The EB-5 Investor Visa enables global HNWIs to invest a specific amount of money into an approved project and, in return, receive a US Green Card.
During his first presidency, Trump was the EB-5’s biggest supporter.
In fact, Trump sent his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to China to push the EB-5 program.
And heading into the era of Trump 2.0, Trump remains a staunch and aggressive supporter of the EB-5 Golden Visa program.
While Chinese HNW families are historically the largest group of investors who now own their own American Dream via the EB-5 Golden Visa, the program is becoming increasingly popular with Indian HNW families, Tiawanese HNW families, as well as European HNW families.
Our EB-5 program maintains direct connections with approved EB-5 projects, enabling us to offer our clients the best investment opportunities for securing their Green Cards.
The cost of the EB-5 Golden Visa program starts at $800,000, but with fees, additional dependents, and taxes, the price increases to around $900,000.
The EB-5 Investor Visa is unique in that clients who are already legally residing in the US on another type of visa can still use the EB-5 Golden Visa program to speed up their acquisition of a Green Card.
Our EB-5 Investor Golden Golden visa package includes everything from the approved investment project to handling the totality of the EB-5 visa process.
US Green Card to US Passport
All US Green Card holders are eligible for US citizenship and a US passport after holding Green Card residency for five years.
Thus, all EB-3 and EB-5 recipients are eligible to apply for US citizenship after five years of residency.
However, it must be noted that the criteria for US citizenship are distinct from those of the EB-3 and EB-5 programs.
For example, neither the EB-3 or EB-5 require any English-speaking skills.
However, to be eligible for US citizenship, the ability to communicate effectively in English is required.
Generally, a Green Card holder must have physically lived in the United States for at least 30 months [2.5 years] in the 5 years prior to filing for citizenship.
However, this time is reduced to 18 months [1.5 years] if the Green Card holder is married to a US citizen.
These are the general criteria for Green Card holders to become US citizens [per the USCIS site]:
- Demonstrate continuous residence in the United States for at least five years immediately before the date you file;
- Show you have been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the five years immediately before the date you file;
- Show you have lived for at least three months in a state or USCIS district having jurisdiction over your place of residence;
- Show that you are a person of good moral character and have been a person of good moral character for at least five years immediately before the date you file;
- Demonstrate an attachment to the principles and ideals of the US Constitution;
- Be able to read, write, and speak basic English;
- Have knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the history, and of the principles and form of government, of the United States (civics); and
- Take an Oath of Allegiance to the United States.
Again, these are the general requirements; some alterations exist for children, college students, etc.
Own Your American Dream – Now Is The Time
Thanks to the media’s anti-immigrant narrative, many people think Trump and the Republican party oppose any form of immigration.
That is entirely false.
Trump and the Republican party are staunch supporters of legal immigration for legal reasons by those who intend to become a functional and productive part of American society.
Trump and the Republican party have always been supporters of the employment-based visa programs, and that continues to be their political agenda.
As we have already witnessed during Trump’s first presidency, employment-based visas not only went uninhibited, but Trump actively pushed for the increased use of the EB-5.
Under Trump 2.0, with the push to increase America’s production of American-made products, the US workforce will have an unprecedented need and demand for the EB-3 and the EB-5.
In the history of the EB-3 and EB-5 visa programs, there has never been a better time to get in – especially in light of what the last 18 months in the Golden Visa space have shown us.
Over the last year and a half, Golden Visa and passport programs have changed, are about to terminate [such as in Spain], or increased in price.
In 2022, the EB-5 increased from $500,000 to $800,000, but the EB-3 escaped untouched.
Could Trump 2.0 be the time for the EB-3 program price to increase?
Only time will tell, but it will only affect those who wait too long.
Schedule your Free EB-3 or EB-5 Consultation today.
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