Answers to Common EB-5 Visa Investor Questions

Posted by Rupy Cheema on May 22, 2023

Here are the questions we most frequently hear from investors:

EB-5 Visa: Requirements & Best Practices

Posted by Kurt Reuss on May 18, 2023

To secure permanent residency status, also known as a Green Card, through the EB-5 program, investors must fulfill specific requirements set by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

This article provides an overview of the requirements for obtaining permanent U.S. residency through the EB-5 program and the rules and considerations for Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs) with their lower investment amount and faster visa processing and the different types of business entities that qualify for EB-5 investments.

It highlights the key criteria investors must meet, such as the investment amount, job creation requirements, and lawful source of funds that are acceptable including loans, and various financial documentation that can should be used.

This article provides recommendations and emphasizes the importance of due diligence and expert guidance to ensure compliance.

EB-5 Green Card process: from investment to U.S. permanent residency

Posted by Kurt Reuss on May 17, 2023
 
To obtain U.S. permanent residency through the EB-5 Green Card by investment process, immigrant investors, along with their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21, must navigate through several crucial steps:
 
  1. Decide if EB-5 is right for you
  2. Investment-selection process
  3. Immigration-lawyer selection process
  4. File your EB-5 petition #1 (Form I-526E)
  5. Consular processing or adjustment of status
  6. File your EB-5 petition #2 (Form I-829)

1. Decide if EB-5 is right for you

Is the EB-5 visa program a good fit for you? Before embarking on the EB-5 journey, you should assess if this program aligns with your immigration and financial goals.

Key considerations include:

EB-5 Source of Funds Requirements & Best Practices

Posted by Kurt Reuss on May 14, 2021

A primary requirement for the EB-5 program is an initial investment in a new commercial enterprise. The investment amount should be $800,000 in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or $1,050,000 in a non-TEA area. According to the regulations of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), investors must provide proper documentation in their I-526 petition to demonstrate that the capital for their EB-5 investment has been obtained or earned through lawful means.

EB-5 I-526 petition requirements & recent processing times

Posted by Kurt Reuss on May 12, 2021

I-526 petition investor petition requirements

For an immigrant investor hoping to obtain a Green Card through the EB-5 program, the path begins with choosing an investment project and then filing Form I-526, the Immigration Petition by Alien Investor.

The upcoming EB-5 modernization rules: increased investment amounts, stricter TEA designation, Priority Date retention for some investors

Posted by Rupy Cheema on September 27, 2019

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), on July 24, 2019, published the “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization.” The new regulation rules will take effect for all I-526 investors and I-924 petitioners as of November 21, 2019.

Increased investment amounts

The most significant change to the EB-5 Program will be the raising of the minimum investment requirement from $500,000 to $900,000 (for Targeted Employment Area investments, aka, TEA’s) and the increase of $1 million to $1.8 million for non-TEA investments.

The majority of the EB-5 investments in the market today would not qualify for the $900,000 investment amount since they would not qualify under the new TEA rules. Therefore, many petitioners  who would under today’s rules invest in a $500,000 TEA project would have to invest $1.8 million in the same project, with non-TEA designation, as of November 21, 2019. (See the TEA section below for more on this.)

Making an EB-5 investment? Discover 7 key considerations

Posted by Kurt Reuss on September 16, 2019

1. Real estate projects had advantages historically — what’s changed

Real estate construction projects often require a substantial investment with abundant job creation that EB-5 investors can rely on. 

EB-5 regional center projects are allowed to count direct, indirect and induced jobs based on the construction budget; an economic study will determine how many total jobs will be created. One needs only spend the project budget to ensure jobs will be created.

EB 5 projects due diligence checklist

Posted by Kurt Reuss on August 14, 2019

Making an investment of $800,000 - $1,050,000 in one of the EB-5 projects that ultimately fails, jeopardizes both the investor’s funds and the U.S. residency of the investor’s family, therefore every investor would be wise to know as much as possible about the investments they’re considering.

What is EB-5 due diligence?

Due diligence is an investigation of an investment prior to signing a contract. Due diligence contributes significantly to informed decision making by enhancing the amount and quality of information available to the investor allowing him or her to better understand the benefits and risks.

What is included in an EB-5 Immigrant Visa due diligence review?

Due diligence begins with a thorough analysis of the investment documents including the capital structure, project viability, exit strategy and job creation potential as it relates to the the EB-5 green card program.

The due diligence review should also identify risk mitigation strategies that have been implemented by the Manager or General Partner to protect investors. These include use of a fund administrator to oversee all transfers of investor funds, and construction monitoring to ensure transfers to the Developer are in-line with construction progress.

How big a Job Cushion do you need? Well, it depends…

Posted by Rupy Cheema on February 07, 2019

The EB-5 program requires that each EB-5 Investor create ten (10) jobs. Job cushion refers to the percentage of jobs exceeding the requirement. Having a Job cushion is important so that the job creation estimates are above the minimum required by all investors in a project.

So, what is a sufficient job cushion? Is there a magic number that is acceptable and anything lower than that is rejected? Generally speaking, a higher job cushion provides some assurance that job creation estimates will be met — but EB5 investors need to look deeper than just the job cushion numbers.

Job Cushions from 155 EB-5 offerings

Based on our review of 155 EB-5 offerings, job cushion has ranged from 0% to 900%. Seventy five percent (75%) of the projects have a job cushion of 25% or more and thirty percent (30%) of the projects have a job cushion of 100% or more. The median job cushion is 51%.

Inferring that EB-5 due diligence firms are not independent and their findings can be procured is a red-herring, designed to maintain the status quo.

Posted by Rupy Cheema on August 30, 2016

CMB recently published a blog titled EB-5 Due Diligence - Third Party Websites: Considering one of the many independent EB-5 due diligence services? in which they dismiss the notion that investors are served by retaining a due diligence firm before selecting an EB-5 investment.