We have been looking at the reasons why the EB5 visa has been of interest to particular groups of immigrants and today we look at a case study taken from one of our previous 100+ investors – this relates to a citizen of Pakistan who wished to change his visa from the H-1B to the EB-5 to live permanently in the USA.

The gentleman had relocated to the USA eight years ago, initially as a student on an F1 visa. After graduation he worked for a major finance company in New York. After working for a few years on the H1B visa, and wishing to file for permanent residency in the United States, he faced a lengthy waiting period required for the labor certification during the first stage of the employment-based permanent residency application. This situation had been further complicated by the distressed economy. He and his wife were also fast approaching the end of the six years allowed under their H-1B visas. An inability to renew their H-1B’s, despite both their desire to remain in their respective jobs and the willingness of their respective company’s to help, could have necessitated their departure from the USA.

After meeting Stephen Parnell during a Which EB5 discovery day in New York city, he looked at the EB-5 regional center pilot program in more detail. A successful project track record, quick processing time and an investment with a project that offered a specific exit strategy were some of the important criteria that he considered in reaching his decision. Once he had completed his diligence on the projects that met his criteria, he decided to invest the requisite $500,000 in a limited partnership project in an approved and proven regional center program for the development of an infrastructure project in California. The funds are loaned to a development agency to fund the redevelopment and renovation of a redundant government facility for commercial use. The entire process took a little over four months from beginning to end, with the I-526 approval taking three months, and the green card arriving little over a month later.

If you are currently on an H-1B visa and need to look for an alternative route to permanent residence click here now.