The hospitality scene of the country has gone a tremendous change. Luxury has taken on a new meaning.  Hotels with exquisite architecture, grand pools and landscaped exteriors have dotted every city and yet the country demands more. Where does all the financing for Ky Nghi Dong Duong the fancy hotels come from? If the corporate sector Kỳ Nghỉ Đông Dương of US is indeed that dynamically rich that it can fund such extravaganza itself, then why are there rising concerns about the US economy?

The hotel industry flourishes, owing largely, to foreign investors keen on investing and expanding within US.  The introduction of the EB5 Investment visas in 1990 invited foreign investors to invest in business in the country and generate revenue and employment opportunities. The hotel industry being the most promising business venture, many investors used this window to strike business roots.

Before exploring how the EB5 Investors visa has actually impacted the hospitality industry, heres a quick introduction to the same.

What exactly is an EB5 Investment Visa?
In 1990 the Government figured out a way to allow foreign investors to invest in business enterprises in the US.  It introduced the EB5 Investors visa; an immigrant visa which allows foreign investors to make new investments in a commercial enterprise in the country which will generate revenue and create employment opportunities for US citizens.

Within five months of application, the USCIS or the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, issues a conditional EB5 Investor visa to the investor.  This visa is issued only if the investment and the project the investor wishes to invest in are qualified by the Government. This visa is valid for two years. If the criterion under which the visa was issued is fulfilled within these two years, the investor can apply for permanent resident status and after five years apply for US Citizenship.

Who can apply for the EB5 Investor Visa?
Any individual willing to invest either $100,000 or $500,000 in a commercial enterprise in an area marked as target employment areas by the Government can apply for this visa.  This enterprise should create an opportunity for minimum ten full time jobs and generate enough revenue to contribute to the US economy. The entire amount must be invested in the proposed business by the investor within a period of two years. Any other additional fee the investor incurs has to be paid from investor funds besides this investment.

Most EB5 Investment visa holders usually prefer to invest $500,000 in a business project. Hoteliers wishing to develop their business within the countries have to do it in target employment areas. Currently EB5 Investment visa holders have raised more than 200 million dollars to develop hotels all over the country. What is surprising is that most of these investors hail from China. In 2011, almost 7% of all the funding raised by EB5 has come from hoteliers from China wishing to bring their business ventures to the US.  Since the hotels are sure to generate employment opportunities the USCIS encourage the Chinese investors to bring their foreign funding and invest it in developing the hotel industry.