The U.S. attracted $3 billion in investments in 2015, by granting green cards to foreign investors who invest $500,000, as a part of the EB-5 investor program. Countries that have difficulty attracting foreign investors because of challenges facing the global economy have sought ways to overcome this problem. The U.S. does this by granting a green card to foreigners who invest $500,000, in a project that is conducted at state-approved regional centers inside of the U.S. This is as part of the EB-5 investor program, which has been in place since 1992. Şevki Akaydın, the general manager of the consultancy Yeni Bir Hayat, advising about overseas life, health and education, said the EB-5 investor program aims to facilitate foreign investors' access to the U.S. economy and create labor force through investments - in return for which foreign investors and their family members are granted green cards.
If foreigners invest $500,000 in a project that is conducted at state-approved regional centers inside of the U.S as part of the EB-5 investor program, they and their family members will be firstly given two-year green cards and then life-long green cards. When they get temporary green cards for two years, foreign investors can settle anywhere they want in the U.S. and obtain the right to establish business or work at a company. Akaydın said, "They can benefit from education and health services like other U.S. citizens. However they cannot vote in elections, and they are not given U.S. passports."
In case foreign investors do not want to settle in the U.S. as soon as they obtain green cards, they can protect the validity of their green cards by entering and exiting the U.S. at least once a year. Furthermore if they spend at least two-and-a-half years out of the five-year period in the U.S., they can obtain U.S. citizenship rights and passports. In accordance with the dual citizenship agreement, they will not lose their Turkish citizenship rights, remaining citizens of both countries.
