Tapping in on the aspirations of high networth Indians to educate their children in the US, the US Immigration Fund (USIF), the largest fund raiser under the country’s employment-based preference category (EB-5) visa, has targeted to raise $125 million in foreign investments from 250 Indian investors by 2018.

“This year we are set to raise about $50 million from 100 investors. But with growing awareness about the EB-5 category in the country, we hope to touch $125 million next year. Soon India could be the second largest user of the visa after China,” Andrew Graves, Director, Business Development, India, USIF, told BusinessLine .

Under the EB-5 visa programme, foreign investors can obtain a US immigrant visa for themselves and their family by investing a minimum of $ 500,000 in real estate projects in the US which create at least ten jobs for Americans. Each year, the US government grants 10,000 EB-5 visas to foreign nationals, and more than 70 per cent are cornered by the Chinese investors. India is in the fifth position after Vietnam, South Korea and Russia.

With the Trump administration considering raising the minimum investment condition under the visa category, Andrews said that it was a ripe time for interested Indians to make the investments. “There are serious talks of raising the investment limit to about $800,000. So, I would say that if there are people interested in making investments they should go for it before the limit is raised,” Graves said.

Globally about two-thirds of EB-5 investors do it to give educational opportunities to their children in the US. “We find the same aspiration amongst Indians not just in major cities like Delhi and Mumbai but also in smaller ones like Ludhiana,” Graves added.

To target more such potential investors, USIF has tied up with The Chopras Group, a India-based education group. The Chopras have supported USIF in building a large platform for EB-5 and establishing a dedicated infrastructure for the offering across all their 26 offices in major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ludhiana.

“Our Indian partner’s credibility is an asset for us and provides assurances and comfort to our EB-5 investor families as they embark on what could otherwise be a complex and difficult journey,” Nicholas A Mastroianni II, Chairman and CEO of USIF, told a press conference on Tuesday.

USIF has worked with about 6,000 investors and their families from countries like China, Vietnam, Russia, South Korea and France.

India’s potential has also attracted New York-based private equity and real estate advisory firm Greystone to the country which reportedly expects at least 20-30 investors from the country investing through the platform.

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