The EB-5 Visa program has been widely promoted as a legal basis for foreign business owners to gain conditional residency followed by permanent residency in the United States. The program is a great solution to the proposition “I want to live in America.”

The decision to become a permanent resident or U.S. citizen has some significant, potentially costly, trade-offs from a tax perspective. These trade-offs should make a wealthy foreigner think twice about becoming a U.S. permanent resident or citizen particularly if there are other ways to spend a substantial amount of time in the U.S. without being locked into permanent residency or U.S. citizenship from a tax perspective.

Originally published in Journal of Taxation of Investments on August 27, 2015.