With the new reality that investors from Mainland China will have to wait a minimum of six years, before a visa number will be available for them to use an approved I-526 petition to immigrate to the United States it has becomes advantageous to analyse emerging and established EB-5 MArkets elsewhere in the world. To that end IIUSA was pleased earlier this year to publish the first edition of the Investor Markets Report which includes both on-the-ground insights and comprehensive quantitative analysis of EB-5 investor trends and is the first report of its kind for the EB-5 industry. By crunching the numbers on comprehensive data-sets of both USCIS petition data as well as Department of State visa statistics, we can now visualize the influx of investment from around the world and extrapolate where growth may yet come. The annual report will help EB-5 stakeholders draw important conclusion that can lead to actionable steps by project sponsors to bring new investors through the Program. becomes advantageous to analysis emerging and established EB-5 Markets elsewhere in the world.
In Africa no country stood out more so than Nigeria as a market poised for EB-5 Program growth. While Nigeria has generated just 49 I-526 approvals, it is the second largest investor market in the Africa region. Furthermore, the reason for optimism for EB-5 interest in igeria is that 38 of those approvals occurred between FY2008 and FY2014, representing a 3,000 percent increase. Internal threats to security and stability coupled with a rapidly growing wealthy class could drive interest in EB-5 over the coming years. IIUSA’s looks to build on this analysis in the 2nd edition of the Investor Market Report which is coming soon!
Download the Investor Market Report
IIUSA Member Perspective
Earlier, this year IIUSA member Chad Ellsworth, Partner, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernse & Loewy, LLP had the opportunity to travel to Nigeria to discuss the EB-5 Program with potential investors and financial advisors in the region. Mr. Ellsworth summarized his trip findings in an article The Cautious Giant: EB-5 Lessons from Nigeria from the article:
“The country is often referred to as the “Giant of Africa” due to its large population and economy. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. As of 2015, Nigeria boasts the world’s 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and purchasing power parity. Nigeria is also considered an emerging market by the World Bank, a regional power on the African continent, a middle power in international affairs, and an emerging global power. Further, in Fiscal Year 2015, Nigeria placed 9th out of the Top 10 EB-5 Visa Countries.”
