In 1990, in an effort to attract investment of foreign capital into domestic projects, Congress created an employment-based preference category for issuing visas to qualified foreigners seeking to gain legal residency in the United States. Because this category is the fifth employment-based visa category created, it has become commonly known as EB-5.Under the EB-5 program, a foreign national who invests a minimum of $1 million — or $500,000 if the investment is made in a rural or high-unemployment area — in a …