By Suresh Rajan

The high quality of education in the United States has kept American colleges and universities in first place in the global rankings of US News and World Report. Every year, about 950,000 students worldwide enroll in academic and university programs in the United States. These students arrive not only with hopes of developing their skills and knowledge but also with an eye toward pursuing the American dream.

To study and stay in the United States, students must apply in advance to the programs they are interested in. Furthermore, they must obtain a visa—usually the F-1 student visa—that allows them to study in the country legally. A legal visa is an absolute requirement.

The F-1 allows a visa holder entry into the United States as a full-time student at a college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, or other institution or language training program.

Even after students receive this visa, they still face challenges. For example, F-1 students are not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week during the school year, although they may work full-time during school breaks. These jobs may or may not be related to the student’s course of study. If an international student finds a paid internship or job that demands more than 20 hours of work per week, the student must turn down the job.

Furthermore, students on an F-1 visa can only take on-campus jobs; off-campus work on an F-1 visa is only allowed in rare cases of severe economic hardship when jobs are not available on-campus—and since students are required to be able to afford school and living expenses before they arrive in the United States, they should not plan to work off campus. USCIS must approve any off-campus employment.

F-1 students in certain programs can also undertake the following types of employment which are related to their program of study: curricular practical training (CPT), which must occur before the end of the student’s academic program; or optional practical training (OPT), which can occur either before or after graduation. Students in certain science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs may be eligible for a 24-month extension of their OPT.

After students finish their academic programs and any OPT work, they can only obtain any postgraduate employment if they migrate from the F-1 visa to an H-1B visa. Since the H-1B visa is not an immigrant visa, it is valid only for a set period and does not lead to a Green Card.

The H-1B visa, or specialty visa, requires applicants to have a college degree, or its equivalent in work experience, and specialized skills. This visa also depends upon having an employer that must sponsor the employee during their employment.

The application process for the H-1B is even more complex due to high demand. For the available visas in 2023, 483,927 people applied for the H-1B visa and, considering that USCIS issues only a total of 85,000 visas each fiscal year, only 18% of the applicants were able to obtain it, an all-time low.

What’s more, visa recipients are selected by a random lottery system that does not consider applicants’ merit or the years of study and internships they have undertaken. And even when applicants do receive the visa, if they lose their job or their employer can no longer sponsor them, they must return to their home countries within 60 days.

The H-1B visa process is often disappointing, due to the low percentage of even very qualified applicants who obtain the visa—and the requirement that, even if they succeed at obtaining it, they must leave the country if they lose their sponsoring employment.

One often overlooked alternative, however, can help students expand their opportunities for studying and working in the United States even before they enter school: the EB-5 visa.

The EB-5 or immigrant investor visa allows applicants to invest in the U.S. economy to gain access to it. The main advantage is that the EB-5 visa allows applicants, and their immediate dependent family members, to obtain conditional green cards that allow permanent residence in the country once their EB-5 application is approved.

After two years on a conditional green card, applicants can apply to have the conditions removed from their green cards and thus become permanent residents of the United States. Investors do not have to apply for citizenship, but if they choose to, they become eligible to do so four years and nine months after their initial conditional green card was granted.

Another benefit is that with the EB-5 visa holders acquire certain rights or benefits as U.S. residents, thus considerably increasing their acceptance rate to universities, in addition to obtaining discounts on in-state tuition if they choose to attend a public or state school within their state of residence.

Whereas students on F-1 visas are considered international students who must pay full tuition, students on EB-5 visas already have their green cards and thus are eligible for the same opportunities as US-born students—including scholarships and lower in-state tuition for public and state colleges and universities, potentially saving their families tens of thousands of dollars a year.

EB-5 visa holders who have finished school and want to work do not need to find an employer to sponsor their visa. In addition, the EB-5 visa expands employment opportunities for applicants, since unlike the F-1 and H-1B visas, it allows holders to seek employment in any area of interest, even if it is not related to their field of study.

What is even more interesting is that, if the main EB-5 applicant is already in the United States on another valid visa, he/she can simultaneously apply for a work permit with the EB-5 application and obtain this permit within 4 to 8 months, a total game changer for students and young professionals already in the country.

To obtain the EB-5 visa, the student, or his or her parents on behalf of the student, must make an investment of US $800,000 in a U.S.-based business that creates at least 10 full-time U.S. jobs per application. It is important to consider that there are extra costs too, such as government filing fees, legal fees, and administrative expenses that can add up to a cumulative total of approximately $90,000 dollars, above the minimum investment of $800,000 dollars.

At first glance, the investment amount may seem high. However, it is important to put into perspective that not only the principal capital invested should return (if you choose your investment project well), but that such investment goes far beyond the capital return, offering more freedom and opportunities to live in the United States.

Furthermore, the EB-5 investor visa reflects the value of the benefits it provides. Because applying for an EB-5 visa is a strategic decision to access a future with great opportunities for education, healthcare, employment, and quality of life, it is recommended to deal with experienced advisers to guide students and their families in the selection of high-quality investment projects that meet all the requirements of the EB-5 visa.

In summary, the EB-5 visa will allow its holder to live, study, work for any company or even start their own business anywhere in the United States.

(Author is Executive Chairman and Founder of LCR Capital Partners)