EB5 Green Card FAQs

Watch the Video on this FAQ:

How can I qualify for EB-1C/International Managers or Executives

Video Transcript

1. Please discuss your job description that is intended in the foreign country outside USA with your lawyers. Make sure you plan for it from day one because if you try to plan for it a year down the line you won't succeed.

2. You can apply an EB-1C and then transfer the priority date from another case. No problem EB-2 and EB-3 can be transferred over. You can come on L-1A. You should definitely at least get your EB-1C started as quickly as possible that my opinion.

3. There is no visa ban in starting the application.

FAQ in detail...

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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Green card based upon investment – EB-5

Video Transcript:

When you are doing an investment based green card first of all you have to look at these moving parts:

One set of moving parts is, do you want to invest half a million dollars or a million. Second moving part is do you want to run the business yourself or let somebody else run the business.

So when you invest 500,000 dollars in an approved investment scheme remember it is only approved for immigration compliance expectedly. They can still mess up and they do. There is no guarantee that this scheme will be successful or your money is safe. So don't think that just because the investment scheme has been approved by the government it is either safe or even honest. Nobody can tell you that. You have to assess that. There are some services out there who help you make those decisions. I don't recommend any. I have never used any. We have dealt with EB-5's through investment centers as well as individual businesses.

So if you want to start your own business what you have to do is invest either half a million in some of the areas that are considered to be rural or targeted employment areas where the unemployment is about 50 percent higher than the national average. 

The way the process of the green card works is once you make the investment, whether it is an investment center or your own particular business, you can then file the first set of forms which almost take two years to complete then add to it another six to eight months then you get your conditional green card. Therefore, it takes between two - three years under the current environment.

Once you get the conditional green card you can come to the USA, you can start living here, your son can start going to school. 90 days before the end of the two years another set of forms is filed to remove the condition that shows that ten American jobs have been created and that the investment is on track, that's when you get your permanent green card. More...

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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Filing EB-5 investor case with a promissory note secured by property in a foreign country

Video Transcript:

Yes, it is possible. The only problem is, I don't remember the exact laws on the duration of the promissory note, I don't think you can delay it all the way to two years. I think it probably will have to be relatively short period of time. More...

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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Current immigration/visa options for entrepreneurs

Video Transcript

A few options for Entrepreneurial Visas:

You could come in on E visa, H visa, O visa or TN visa and eventually get a green card based upon various other options including EB-1A if you are extraordinary qualified individual or EB-5 if you are making the required amount of investment and creating the jobs necessary under the rule. 

You can also come in through L-1A if you have a foreign company you have worked outside for that company for at least one year as an executive or managerial employee, you can start a company or buy a company in the United States and transfer yourself or your key managerial employees or employee to the USA. L-1 is the fastest way of getting a green card because L-1 is potentially processed within a few weeks because you can file premium processing and once you are in the USA you can file a EB-1 based green card which will get you seen through the process normally within a year, sometimes as little as three to five months. More ...

Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.

True. The EB-5, the religious visa programs and Conrad 30 waives for foreign physicians have been extended until 8 December 2017 pursuant to H.R. 601 – Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017.

Green card through EB-5 category continues to be an option for a specific category of investors,  who have the money ($500,000 pr $1M) to invest. Under the US Constitution, the government cannot make laws that change vested rights retroactively. Therefore, if you have already invested and filed your EB-5 papers, I don't see why you need to worry about subsequent changes in the law.

Everyone with a running business outside the United States should seriously consider first the EB-1C category, which is considerably more attractive than EB-5 for several reasons. EB- 1C does not require a specific amount of investment, it requires instead only a business in the United States that is a subsidiary, branch, parent or affiliate of a foreign corporation transferring an executive or a managerial level employee to the United States. The managerial or executive employee receives an L-1A visa within a few weeks and can get a green card within a few months.

See clip from Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna's conference call video that addresses this question.  

https://youtu.be/H_VV9kV_lOg?t=2539  

FAQ Transcript:

EB-5 is the investor visa where you invest five hundred thousand either with the pre-approved scheme or what is called regional centres or in a rural area or in a targeted employment area. Typically, where the unemployment is more than 50 percent.

These questions are related to regional centre investments. Regional centres have always made me nervous because remember these pre-approved schemes are approved only for immigration compliance. They are not approved for vigilance by the government. Government doesn’t over see your investments. They are not guaranteed in any way as people can run away with your money. There are investment centre’s that have been fraudulent. Warrants are out on some of these people. But of course lot of them are quite genuine. Unfortunately, we as lawyers are not investment advisers, we cannot tell you which regional centre is safe and which are not, we can tell you what our other clients have used successfully. But that in no way means is going to be a repeat performance of success. So when you put your five hundred thousand in a regional centre there is absolutely no guarantee of the money.

Answer to question 1. It is not guaranteed. It is not 18 months actually. The way it works is you first file the first set of forms I think it is I-526 and if that is approved then you get your green card process rolling. You can’t file for e.g.: AOS and I-526 jointly. It has to be done consecutively. There is no concurrent filing. So once the first form gets approved then the green card gets approved you get a conditional green card. Ninety days before the second anniversary of the approval you have to apply for the removal of the conditional status using form I-829 and you show the government the money is invested in the jobs are almost created.

Answer to question 2. None of this is guaranteed.

Answer to question 3. One involves immigration processing and the other involves the investment itself. The safety of the investment depends on the money where it is invested and how good the centre is. As for the immigration getting approved that depends on the immigration documentation requirements having been completed. This is definitely not a guaranteed process. In fact, the hallmark of EB-5 investment is that your money is at risk.

That depends upon how old the business is and how you wish to structure your ownership.

According to USCIS, an eligible enterprise for EB-5 investment is one that is either established after Nov. 29, 1990, or established on or before Nov. 29, 1990, and is:

1. Purchased and the existing business is restructured or reorganized in such a way that a new commercial enterprise results, or

2. Expanded through the investment so that a 40-percent increase in the net worth or number of employees occurs

1. Under the current laws, self-application seems not to be an option for you.

2. There are only three categories for employment-based self-application: EB-1A (Extraordinary ability alien), National Interest Waiver and EB-5, investment. There is no category I can think of under which you may qualify for self-application (without an employer's help). If you would like a consultation to understand further, join our free community conference call. A one-on-one consultation may not be necessary.

Do note, if a set of new immigration laws gets passed, all this could change. To keep track of developments in the pending immigration law reform, follow this link: http://www.immigration.com/comprehen...on-reform-2013

Review these links:
EB-1A: http://www.immigration.com/greencard...international-

National INterest Waiver: http://www.immigration.com/greencard...terest-waivers

EB-5 Investment: http://www.immigration.com/greencard...ent-green-card

1. I dont know of any regional center who does not want the entire money up front. They also usually add on a few thousand dollars of additional fees.
2. No idea about ROI. We do not get involved with financial assessments. Not our expertise.
3. Not usually. But this depends upon the project and your agreement. But the green card would fail in such a case.
4. None, usually.
5. Hmm. I do not recall the exact time frame. Sorry.
6. No. Beyond the normal SEC regs, as far as I know, you are, unfortunately, on your own. This is the part about the regional centers that bothers me.
7. Over two years. But your business plan has to show how you will create the jobs.
8. Huh? Yes, of course. But there has to be a connection between the investment and the job creation.

Yes, of course. Especially when you are going through a regional investment center.

I do not see why not. But check with a CPA about gift tax.

We practice US laws so I have no idea about RBI permissions. Safety of money is not guaranteed in any of the trusts that I know of. After all, this is an investment, not a fixed deposit or a CD in a bank. For businessmen with established businesses, L-1A and then EB1 is usually the better option.