BENGALURU: Following the implementation of tough US immigration laws, EB-5 visa is slowly finding new ground among immigrants aspiring for a green card, notes Rohit Turkhud, who has been practicing immigration law for over thirty years.
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program, created in 1990 by the Immigration Act of 1990, provides a method for eligible immigrant investors to become lawful permanent residents — green card holders — by investing at least $1,000,000 to finance a business in the US that will employ at least 10 American workers.
A partner in Fakhoury Global Immigration, Rohit was in the city to discuss the impact of the DonaldTrump era on immigration options for Indian professionals. The conference also hosted the Bengaluru book release of The Perm Book by Joel Stewart.
While getting an H-1B visa for a computer programmer is now tougher than ever, the popularity of EB-5 visa is picking up slowly. I see a big market for it next year, says Rohit. “I have been observing those on work and student visa working hard to come up with the sum to pay for the EB-5 visa to get that green card,” he adds.
Rohit informs that the two way a company can get their software programme to have a H-1B visa, is by raising their wage and re-defining the employees duties at work. “It is really tough startups out there,” says Rohit. Nasscom is working on a lobby to present the Indian IT story to Washington, informs Umesh Vaidyamath, CEO, INSZoom, an immigration case management software company. “Because immigration of course is political business,” he adds.
Umesh, however, adds that Google and Microsoft failed at convincing the government to ease the immigration laws. “They are not doing a good job in telling the story of the Indian IT sector,” he adds.
Americans think Indians come in to the “land of opportunities” and flourish, but they forget the other side of the story where the Indian comes in, a set of skills, works hard, creates job opportunities and mingles in with the American society and its culture, says Umesh. A change is imminent, says Rohit, adding that firms will have to adjust to the new laws if they want to flourish in the US market.