USIF to open offices in India

US Immigration Fund (USIF) decided to reach out to more Indian investors that want to obtain permanent US residency by opening offices in India.

The company plans to have three offices—Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru— in India as of now.

One of the largest EB-5 fund raiser in the world, USIF believes that India will be a significant country for EB-5 investors given the overall demographics of 1.3 billion people with a large middle and upper class.

The company had already got investors from India in the past but it was recently they realised that there can be more demand that can come from India. Andrew Graves, director of business, USIF told The Free Press Journal that the company started work on India about a year or two ago.

Graves added that there are already 80 investors from India. “We are hoping to have more than 50 investors by the end of this year.”

Apart from major cities, the company is also eyeing investors from non-metro regions in Punjab and South India.

USIF has funded 24 projects worth USD 15 billion in development, and USD 3.2 billion in EB-5 funds through 6,400 investors. At present, Graves said that they have three active projects. The company hopes to raise more funds from around 400 investors for the existing projects. “For each of the project, we raise USD 150 to 350 million,” Graves added.

During the announcement of the Indian operations, one of the reporters quizzed Graves about the impact of US President Donald Trump’s immigration stance, he said that Trump is in favour of immigration but against illegal immigration. Graves added that USIF in forefront of lobbying for EB-5 visa.

About 76 per cent of EB-5 visa beneficiaries are Chinese, followed by Vietnam, Brazil, Taiwan and then India. Over the last 8 years the usage of EB-5 visas from native Chinese citizens has grown more than 2,000 per cent.