Sometimes when we are consulting with potential EB5 clients they tell us of rumors or stories they have heard on been told about the rules of the EB-5 visa program. Just recently a client told us of a disturbing piece of news they had received, not from an unauthorized source, but from an American Consulate office. This client told us that they had contacted their local American Consulate and were told, with some certainty, that the EB-5visa program was not available for those who are GuatemalanCitizens.
We commented to the client that we were sure this was not the case but to be totally accurate with our response we consulted with expert EB5 attorney Anthony Olson who confirmed that this is simply not the case. In fact there are no exclusions from participation in the EB5 visa program due to citizenship.
In fairness to the staff of this particular U.S. Consulate we would add that sometimes a request for information can get lost in the context of the question at hand and a simple clarification might have explained the mis-information. It is possible that the officer in questions may have referred to the E2 visa that does have restrictions based upon the country of origin.
Should you wish to clarify any point of information you have received on the EB-5 visa program, no matter the source, we at Which EB5 will be happy to answer your question(s) and, if necessary, get outside expert opinion on your behalf.
There are a number of benefits in obtaining an EB-5visa, these include –
Legal permanent residents admitted through the EB-5 Investor visa enjoy many of the benefits of United States Citizens. Permanent residency requires no renewal or re-application. Other U.S. non-immigrant visas, such as E-2 and H1, often never result in permanent residency, have time limits, and require additional filing with USCIS the Department of State and can require travel to the US consulate in your home country every few years. Furthermore, U.S. immigration laws could change and prevent future approval when visa renewal becomes due.
The United States is considered by many a safe haven for their family. Any member of the family granted a Green Card can come into the U.S. at any time and stay as long as they wish (subject to certain conditions regarding length of time when they leave the USA).
EB-5 investors have constant easy access to the United States for personal and business purposes.
Permanent residents can travel to the U.S. without the need of a visa. (they will need their green card) EB5 Investors may live, retire work, or own their own business anywhere in the United States.
The U.S. has internationally recognized colleges and universities for both basic education and graduate study. These do vary enormously so it is worth seeking professional advice on this point. As a resident the EB 5 investor can benefit from lower tuition costs, particularly in your state of residence.
The cost of living in the U.S. is often considered lower than other industrial nations. Consumer goods, services, and housing can be considerably less expensive than comparable goods and services in many other countries.
The U.S. provides many financial, social and education entitlements: public schools, education and, after a period of contribution, medical and social security benefits.
The investor has the ability to bring other family members to the U.S. and obtain U.S. citizenship – after 5 years.
More details on the EB-5 visa and green card are available from EB-5 Visa Experts where, If you are considering the EB5 visa, you can get a free evaluation of your case by a leading immigration attorney.
The EB-5 visa has been available in its current format for several years and as a result there is a fair amount of evidence to draw on regarding its success, as well as some failures.
For those of you considering the EB-5 as your gateway to permanent residence in the USA you will need to invest $500,000 in one of many government approved regional center programs typically for five to six years. In return, if you fulfill the requirements of investing in specific areas, and the program creates ten jobs per investor, you, your spouse, and children under 21 get to achieve permanent residency (Green Card) status in the USA.
Those brave pioneers who first used the EB5 route some six years ago are now in a position to have received their investment back and obtain US citizenship if they so choose. Going back six years there were literally only a handful of programs available to choose from. These programs still exist, but only one has repaid their initial investors in full. That program had a clear and fixed exit strategy covering repayment of the investment.
So, for many people, that raises the question; will I get my money back? The answer in the case of that project is yes. However, in the case of other centers, without that clear exit strategy in writing, there is still no answer.
The EB5 investor visa program has many benefits but an ongoing problem remains for those that seek information direct from the regional centers rather than experienced independent advisers. The regional centers want, and indeed need to sell places and sometimes they may be economical with the facts in order to win you over and steal you away from a competing regional center project.
For example, are you in a hurry to obtain your EB5 visa? If so you may be drawn to a particular regional center that makes a number of claims including that it has a faster processing time. Here is a direct quote from their website and promotional material:
“Credibility of the State of XXXXXXX with governmental responsibility and oversight means that investors’ petitions are given priority by CIS, resulting in a faster path to approval”
Enquiries into the accuracy of this statement by independent EB5 investigators to the USCIS (the U.S. Government) resulted in the following response:
“XXXXXXX Regional Center petitions are not given priority over other Regional Center petitions”.
Are any other statements on that website inaccurate? I’ll leave you to be the judge.
Another regional center claim a100% track record but there has been a number of refusals which are not highlighted in their sales material.
Sometimes families researching the various EB5 programs are attracted by well known names associated with particular regional centers yet with a little help it is not difficult to discover there a number of less well known, mundane, and frankly boring programs with excellent track records, well thought through, and certainly in the current economic climate, worthy of attention.
The office of Sen. Patrick S. Leahy, D-Vt., issued the text of the following comments:
“Senators Reid, Schumer and Menendez have released a productive framework for
the process of drafting comprehensive immigration reform legislation. I share
their commitment to enacting key legislative efforts including AgJobs, the
Uniting American Families Act, the DREAM Act, and a permanent extension of the EB-5foreign investors program, as part of comprehensive reform. These are
sensible, constructive and urgently needed measures that have had, and should
continue to have, bipartisan support.
“I remain committed to meaningful comprehensive immigration reform. There is
bipartisan agreement that reform is needed; there are differences of opinion
over how we can accomplish that. I remain seriously concerned with proposals for
establishing biometric identification requirements, and I will need to carefully
study the details of any such proposal. I also expect to carefully review
proposals for enforcement and border security. Meaningful reform must include a
realistic path to citizenship to allow us to bring illegal immigrants out of the
shadows.
“I hope the outline released today will encourage discussions across the
aisle, and that they will lead to a bipartisan legislative proposal. All Americans are concerned with updating our immigration laws, fulfilling our labor
needs, and addressing the escalating violence along our southern border. I hope
we can come together to address these pressing matters.”
This news brought to you courtesy of:
Stephen W. Yale-Loehr Adjunct Professor, Cornell Law School
Miller Mayer, LLP
Many foreign students plan to go to the USA to study
Each year many foreign students plan to go to the USA to study at the world recognized Colleges and Universities and many would like the opportunity to work during their studies and find employment in the USA following graduation.
However, on the visas most students use, the F1 or M1, this is not possible. However, the EB-5investment visa, by allowing permanent residence, enables applicants to study and work as they wish.
An increasing number of students are preferring the EB-5 visa route as it enables them to develop their career in the USA after graduation and live as permanent residents obtaining US citizenship after five years if they so choose.
Each year many students plan to go to the USA to study at the Countries world recognized Colleges and Universities, many would like the opportunity to work during their studies and find employment in the USA following graduation. However, on the visas most students use, the F1 or M1, this is not possible. For many the EB-5 investment visa, by allowing permanent residence, enables applicants to study and work as they wish.
An increasing number of students are preferring the EB-5 visa route as it enables them to develop their career in the USA after graduation and live as permanent residents obtaining US citizenship after five years if they so choose.
For details please contact our Student Liaison Director Candice Bartlett via email to info@whicheb5.com
Picking the right regional center isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Foreign investors looking for fast-track permanent residency in the United States can take heart in the recent three-year extension of the EB-5 regional center program. This approval, however, shouldn’t be seen as cause to throw caution to the wind.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have approved a tremendous amount of regional centers that qualify for EB-5 investment status. On the surface, this provides excellent choice, but there are some pitfalls. Making the wrong decision on where to invest can result in a revocation of status after two years and also a loss of the initial $500,000 to $1 million investment.
EB-5 investors have several things beyond making their money back to worry about. They must also be certain the investment does meet the qualifications set by Washington, D.C., and it must also result in the creation of at least 10 jobs.
The EB5 program does provide an excellent way to speed up your Visa, and ultimately your citizenship process, but investors should take the time to educate themselves before moving forward. Making a $500,000 investment is a big undertaking no matter the circumstances.
Potential immigrants need to gain solid information about a number of factors before moving ahead. Some of the things to consider include which regional centers obtain green cards the fastest, which ones are offering a rapid return on investment and even which ones have a 100 percent rate of obtaining green cards.
Concern over housing losses and an attempt to stop home values declining have lead to a debate over an idea to have immigrants buy houses to gain a Green Card.
Last Thursday John Mauldin, president of Millennium Wave Advisers and author of the popular “Thoughts from the Frontline” e-letter floated an idea that, “give immigrants a pathway to citizenship if they buy a house”.
The report from Yahoo finance goes on to say:
The economic benefits of this concept are potentially powerful:
An inflow of foreign money into the U.S. economy, which will both boost the dollar and the economy because of related spending.
Help sop up the supply of excess homes on the market, which will help put a floor under prices and revive the construction industry, creating jobs.
Help shore up America’s middle class. This assumes most immigrants with the money to buy a home are educated, white-collar workers who can help do what immigrants have done throughout U.S. history – energize the country as they pursue the American dream.
“Mauldin doesn’t support giving financial incentives to immigrants or making citizenship automatic with a home purchase. We discussed whether this idea could ever fly politically. Mauldin believes that many Americans would welcome hard-working individuals into their neighborhoods to put a floor on their own housing prices and make the local economy thrive”.
You can watch the interview here:
My question to the media is:
”Why are we even discussing this program when we have a perfectly viable EB-5investor visa program in place that is so under utilized?” A program that not only accomplishes the above goals but also CREATES JOBS FOR AMERICAN WORKERS while providing low-cost funds for infrastructure and other projects, a complete win-win for the U.S. Government and the American taxpayer.
Let’s not mess with the EB-5 program or any derivative of it that even considers the remote possibility of taking away the job creation element of the program. Our EB-5 program should be seen as an “Economic Development Program” first and an immigration program second. We are not going to win over any Washington support (it is not exactly overflowing from DC now) if we seek to remove the employment creation element of the EB-5 program.
A bit of a rant today but I feel so strongly that we need to utilize this outstanding program and we simply are not. First step on my agenda; let’s get a 5-year extension to the current EB-5 regional center program that will give wealthy foreigners the confidence to once again look at the USA as THE place to invest their money. Money we, the American taxpayer, can use to carryout some of those badly needed infrastructure projects the politicians are talking about each Sunday on Meet The Press and This Week.
Would like to hear what you have to say so please reply using this blog, Twitter or Skype.
One of the earliest couples making an investment in return for a Green Card were Michael and Pamela Green.
Four years ago the couple were among the first to immigrate under the then revised EB-5regional center program. The Greens bought into a retail project and received an annual return, they did not have to live in the area where they had invested.
For the first two years, their Green Cards had conditions related to maintaining the investment which have now been removed. Coming up to five years, they can seek citizenship if they wish.
They left to move permanently into the holiday home they bought in Florida, 12 years ago and sold two properties in the UK to move to their new home in a complex beside a golf course fairway. “There is a swimming pool, a fitness centre and the same amount of land but other people take care of it,” said Mr. Green. “I don’t have to cut the grass or clean the pool.”
He added: “We now enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, a very nice climate, with English-speaking people, and a low cost of living. The investment is a small amount to pay for that benefit.” “The sun shines through the window virtually every day.” Mr. Green, a 12-handicap golfer, and a former managing director of a car dealership, added: “The comparison in the cost of living is incredible”.
The couple have a son, a grandchild, and another grandchild on the way. “At my stage of life my family can come to me,” Mr. Green said.
WhichEB5.com, its owners and associates, do not function as attorneys or legal counsel and do not attempt to interpret immigration law and do not provide or offer legal advice or legal services or investment advice. Anyone considering an Investment based Visa should seek independent professional advice. The information on this site is intended to be general on the subject of the EB5 investment visa green card program and should not be relied upon for any specific situation. Any reference to designated regional centers on this website is posted as reference material only. For legal advice, please contact one of our attorneys. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each person. Which EB5 is a service of Ireeco LLC 1515 N.Federal Hwy. Suite 300 Boca Raton Florida 33432 USA Telephone: +1-561-771-1330.
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