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September 9th, 2011 |
 What should have been the best part of the year for enjoying life outside in the summer sunshine has instead seen a terrifying period of civil unrest and riots in many cities throughout the UK.
The scenes shown throughout the day on TV have been the final straw for a number of British families who have been considering whether they should consider upping roots and leaving the UK for a different lifestyle.
One of the issues that frequently crops up with the British families we have spoken to over the years, that is key to why they are considering leaving the UK, is the problem with mindless youth violence in Britain. This is an issue which appears to be a particularly awful British phenomenon, and the pictures of rioting youths and children terrorizing ordinary families and burning down property has been a major shock to many people throughout the world.
The USA may have its problems, but these tend to be political and economic as opposed to the persistent mindless violence that seems to have become more and more prevalent in the UK. It is hard to imagine young people in America acting in such an appalling way or indeed the police or authorities allowing it.
Inquiries from Britain to our office, on obtaining permanent residency in the USA via the EB-5 visa, have multiplied in recent days and many of the enquirers have been interested in the experiences of fellow Brits who have made the move over the past few years and how the EB-5 visa allows families to obtain permanent residency in The USA.
If you would like more information on your visa options to The USA and a free consultation contact Chase Brodsky to arrange a free in-depth personal EB5 consultation for you with one of our Senior Partners.
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Tags: America, british, Brits, EB-5 Visa, immigrate, lifestyle, UK
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
August 10th, 2011 |
 During the past few months it seems that much of the news coming out of the USA is negative, with headlines focusing on issues such as the budget deficit, the falling value of the dollar and unemployment rates. Despite these issues America remains an extremely popular destination for immigrants from all over the world and the EB-5 visa is increasingly viewed as a preferred option. given that it provides permanent residence for the entire family, (the applicant, their spouse and unmarried children under 21).
Reasons for wishing to immigrate differ and sometimes vary depending on the country you are from. We find Chinese applicants focus on the quality of education for their children in the USA. Indian applicants stress the entrepreneurial opportunities, Mexican and Venezuelan applicants often have fears regarding crime and security issues in their home countries and British applicants often long for the sunshine, degree of choice and low cost of living in parts of the USA.
Wherever you are from and whatever your considerations a good place to start if you are considering immigration to The USA and would like to know more about the benefits of the EB-5 visa is to read, Green Card via the Red Carpet which covers the immigration process and the positive and negative aspects of various visa options. Importantly it has been written by two first generation immigrants who understand from your perspective, as potential immigrants, the issues you need to be particularly aware of and the dangers that are important to be aware of.
Many have commented that the time spent reading this book has been the best time they could have spent on researching the EB-5.
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Tags: America, benefits, british, Chinese investors, Crime, eb-5, EB-5 Visa, Green Card via the Red Carpet, immigrate, indian, Mexican, permanent residence, USA, Venezuelan
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
October 28th, 2010 |
 For many years the USA has been one of the most sought after countries that immigrants from all over the world have said is their preferred choice to permanently relocate to. However economic problems that started in the USA and spread throughout the world have raised questions in some potential immigrant’s minds.
An article in the Economist magazine looked at these questions in some depth and made some interesting points, including the observation that one of the greatest strengths of America is that people want to live there. A recent immigrant was quoted as saying “America is a land that offers the chance to be whatever you want to be, it is a place where nearly any immigrant can find a niche. In America you can say what you think.”
The article points out that as America is so big and diverse; immigrants have an incredible array of choices. The proportion of Americans who are foreign born is 13% and nearly all Americans are descended from people who came from somewhere else in the past couple of centuries. No matter where an immigrant comes from, he can find a cluster of his ethnic kin somewhere in America.
America has 50 states with 50 sets of laws. In America people with unusual hobbies are left alone.
Alejandro Mayorkas of the United States Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) service is quoted as saying – “People come to America either because they yearn for freedom or because they are fleeing something – be it a war or a culture that irks them”.
As first generation immigrants ourselves we are of the opinion that America is still the “Home of the Free”. If you would like us to help you start your new life in the USA we would be delighted to help. Please contact us using the form on this page or via email at info@whicheb5.com
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Tags: America, immigrate, USA, uscis
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
August 20th, 2010 |
As the EB-5 visa has become increasingly popular among people looking to immigrate to the USA, questions are being raised about the quality of advice they are receiving. Is it impartial and what are the motives behind the information they are given?
By way of background, the EB-5 visa has a pilot program which is due to end in 2012. The program requires an investment of $500,000 which needs to be in one of approximately 100 government approved regional centers. These regional centers need to create ten jobs per investor in what is termed a Targeted Employment Area (TEA), in areas of specific higher unemployment.
The attractiveness of the visa program is that it can provide one of the fastest routes to permanent residency (Green Card) in the USA for the applicant, their spouse and children.
Many potential applicants who seek impartial and independent advice on the advantages and disadvantages of the various EB-5 programs tend to approach attorneys or consultants to provide them with the facts. However, recent feedback has highlighted issues with some of the advice that is given.
EB-5 applicants require detailed specific legal advice on the visa itself. There are a number of specialized immigration attorneys who have successfully processed multiple EB-5 applications. Interestingly a number of the most respected and experienced of these specialist attorneys have voiced concern over a possible conflict of interest if the EB-5 attorney/lawyer also recommends a particular regional center investment (which pays them a finder’s fee) as well as carrying out the applicants legal work.
Another consideration may be how much knowledge the attorney has on the pros and cons of the various centers. It certainly is more difficult to know all the ins and outs of the various centers without visiting them and having a good look around, how many attorneys have done that?
Applicants also may turn to consultants who specialize in the EB-5 visa for advice and again there have been concerns raised about the actions of some of these people.
Problems may occur if consultants only work with one or two centers and are in reality agents of those centers. Given that there have been issues with some regional center programs leading to rejection of visa applications, as well as instances of funds being allegedly stolen, it is important to get all the facts from ethical experienced EB5 consultants with a proven track record.
There are also concerns if consultants have a potential conflict of interest in that they also market their services to regional centers to advise them, provide marketing or sales advice, or set out to recruit applicants for them. Concern is focused on a possible conflict of interest if a consultant is being paid an advisory fee by one or more regional centers and giving advice on how to target applicants as well as providing, on the face of it, impartial advice to prospective applicants.
One of the few published books on immigration using the EB-5 suggests, when selecting an EB5 consultant, the following questions should be asked:-
- Do you also provide paid advice to any regional centers?
- Have you ever been paid to advise regional centers?
- Do you have an immigration attorney working with you who has made multiple successful EB-5 applications to different regional centers?
- How many successful and unsuccessful EB-5 applicants have you advised?
- Which countries do these applicants come from, can we speak to them?
- Have any of your senior officers ever had any convictions or citations or debars from any national, state business or professional organization?
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Tags: attorney, consultants, eb-5, green card, immigrate, permanent residence, pilot program, regional center, USA, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
December 27th, 2009 |
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We have previously warned of the potential dangers for EB-5 investors who fail to obtain independent advice from experts. Experts who have visited many of the regional center programs are best qualified to provide this advice. Instead some potential immigrants rely on agents representing only one regional center or agents charging big fees to provide a very basic service, this is a bad practice.
Citizens of some countries maybe more at risk than others if they do not obtain impartial, independent advice particularly if they work with a consultant who also advises regional centers on how to market their regional center to potential Chinese immigrants; a recent article in the Chinese press highlights the dangers for Chinese citizens trying to immigrate to the USA.
The article in ‘China Daily’ warns that Chinese investors may be victimized by financial traps set up by Chinese immigration agencies and foreign investment organizations. We would add that this is an issue that reaches beyond China, we cover this problem in our book (Green Card via the Red Carpet) intended to assist immigrants considering the EB-5 program.
There have apparently been complaints regarding the handling of EB-5 immigration cases in China, an example given is Mrs. Zhang in Beijing who found herself charged a brokerage fee by the agency she was using that was far in excess of the figure originally quoted.
This is not a uniquely Chinese problem. Last year we reported cases of alleged fraud carried out on UK citizens who had handed over funds to an agency that failed to pass them on to the appropriate regional center.
We continue to stress the need for independent and impartial advice that points out the positives and negatives of different regional center programs. There is no reason why this advice should not be freely given to you.
For more information contact Which EB5 info@whicheb5.com
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Tags: china, chinese, eb-5, Green Card via the Red Carpet, immigrate, Immigration, independent, investors, regional center, USA, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
May 28th, 2009 |
The varied practices and policies of different regional centers can have definite implications on your investment and your immigration status. Much like the red flags we talked about, just what those implications might be for you are highly individual; as are the ability to understand when and where a policy or practice might become an implication of more concern. Given that, we can give an overview of the practices, policies, and implications that need to be addressed, but to really understand the bearing on your own plans and goals you will need to work with your advisor so that he can show you the how and the why of these implications given your specific situation.
There are a lot of practices and policies that you may not have given much thought to, but that do carry certain implications with them in terms of investing and immigrating with the EB-5 visa. Some of the most common will be outlined in this blog:
Size implications of the regional center project.
The size of the project that you will be investing in can have a number of implications upon your ability to immigrate. By extension, these implications may come to bear on the length and timing of your immigration status. Additionally, the size of the project can be a critical factor in all aspects—in the processing and approval of the I-526, the removal of conditions on the I-829, and also on the risk and exit strategy, and your ability to get your invested funds back.
The size of the regional center project can have implications on the outlined exit strategy, too. It may seem that that exit strategy is very clearly planned and laid-out, but in actuality it may not be if it is too reliant on certain factors, such as economy and market. If that becomes the case, you need to consider how the size of the project and/or number of investors might impact upon your personal exit strategy and ability to finalize your return on investment. Be sure you talk with someone who can illustrate the possible scenarios for you, and understand that exit strategy in realistic terms.
It’s important to caution readers that there is no simple answer in regards to the appropriate size of an investment—both large and small projects can have their definite advantages, but both can also have definite downfalls, depending on the other factors and specifics of the center and the project. The possible implications of a center’s project size must be considered on an individual project per project basis (not a regional center basis—as we said before, one successful project is not always an indication of success a second or third time around).
To sum it up, size is certainly an important consideration, and it is a consideration that goes beyond the advantages that the center’s representatives will portray to you. You need to look beyond the sales gloss, and even beyond the legal considerations, and then sit down with your advisor to consider what other implications may apply to your individual goals and timeline given the overall picture.
Continued next time with: Implications of cultural focus or targeting investors from certain countries. In the meantime, if we can answer any of your questions please contact Stephen Parnell or Andrew Bartlett at Which EB5
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Tags: eb-5, exit stratergy, I-526, I-829, immigrate, Immigration, investment, investors, red flags, regional center, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
March 9th, 2009 |
I spent a weekend recently reviewing an emigration exhibition and it bought back to me memories of my own family’s emigration process. At that very same emigration exhibition ten years ago my family, as part of our research, (my wife Siri and children Kris then 14 and Candice then 12) were trawling through the exhibitors looking for help with our move to America. We, like most attendees, made an assumption that the exhibition organizers had checked through the exhibitors background and credentials and all would be well. Despite my due diligence we were caught out when our goods were shipped out from UK to the USA by a company who were at the exhibition and we ended up paying twice, even though we had been careful even to the extent of checking out their depot!
Although other elements of the move all those years ago were OK, and the family are now US citizens, it is worrying that giving seminars on emigration at that exhibition ten years ago was a man by the name of Derek Coles of the New Horizons group. This man is now under investigation by U.S. authorities regarding allegations involving client funds for EB-5. E2 and L1 visas. There seem to have been a steady stream of such problems over the years with emigrants losing their life savings.
We remain concerned just how vulnerable those planning to immigrate to the USA can be and it is comforting to see that those who plan well and utilize advice can have a happy ending. See comments here.
This blog entry brought to you by Andrew Bartlett
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Tags: E2, eb-5, emigration, immigrate, L1, seminars, US citizens, USA, visas
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
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