A majority of Indians opting for this route take the citizenship for their children’s higher education

For the rich who want to be American citizens, here is the quickest way to have a Green Card.

What one needs to do is to invest $500,000 to $1 million, depending on the U.S. government rules, in an employment-generating Regional Centre Program or have a direct investment to get a permanent residence Visa within 15 months under the EB-5 program.

This is as compared to 7 to 10 years taken in employment-based and 15 to 20 years in family-based Green Cards.

About 200 projects in the U.S. including 10 by people of Indian origin are offering investment opportunities to foreign investors across the globe.

This will enable them bag U.S. Green Cards under the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) EB-5 Investor Visa Program.

As per U.S. law, foreign investors who create at least 10 qualifying jobs with a minimum investment of $500,000 in a Targeted Employment Area can receive U.S. Green Cards for themselves, their spouses and all unmarried children under the age of 21. This amount is expected to go up to $1 million after September this year.

“Regional Centre investment is the preferred investment route for EB-5 and 98.4 per cent of all EB-5 investment is through Regional Centres,” said Sachin Chandavarkar, Vice-President, New Initiatives, Essel Group. “As Regional Centre investment is a passive investment, the investor is free to live anywhere, start a business and take up a job.” Essel Group is setting up Lifestyle a Wellness Centre on 1,310 acres of land.