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