Indians to shell out $50,000 more for US investor visa from April

Although this additional tax would impact all visa categories, it will predominantly create a barrier for people investing in the EB-5 visa programme.

Washington: Beginning April 1, Indians wishing to immigrate to America will now have to pay an additional $50,000 for the EB-5 or the US investor visa, a media report said.

Although this additional tax would impact all visa categories, it will predominantly create a barrier for people investing in the EB-5 visa programme.

In 2019, the EB-5 investor visa programme, for the first time since the 1990s, increased the minimum investment amount to USD 900,000.

With this increase in minimum investment, the new 5 percent additional tax would mean that applicants would have to pay the extra USD 50,000 when they move money to an escrow account in the US to fulfill their application criterion.

"The changes to the tax on remittances is a reminder to Indians to carefully plan their tax position before making the move to the US," Mark Davies, Global Chairman, Davies & Associates LLC, said.

People seeking to emigrate who do not wish to pay this tax at source and rather account for it later may wish to move their money ahead of the new rules coming into effect.

"It is possible to pre-emptively move money into an escrow account in the US until such a time as they are ready to proceed with the emigration process," he added.

(With inputs from IANS)