November 8th, 2011 |
 Sometimes we are contacted by potential immigrants who have decided to make an EB-5 visa application for permanent residence in the USA. However, there is one significant problem with the enquiries we receive from certain clients; they have already selected a regional center program and committed their $500,000 to a project.
While it is very important to carry out a detailed investigation through due diligence, to make sure all the detailed information is available upon which to select the most appropriate regional center program, it is crucial to do this before making an application, not afterwards!
It would seem that a number of EB-5 clients only do limited research before attending a sales presentation by a regional center, attorney or selling agent. They then get caught up in the sales hype put out at the presentation, signing up either at the presentation or shortly afterwards without carrying out thorough, detailed, independent research.
It is generally too late to undertake due diligence after an applicant has started the submission process to USCIS. This is particularly unfortunate if they have selected a program which, despite the claims made in its sales material, has some serious flaws which could lead to some significant problems at a later stage, such as refusal of the I-829 petition (a potential reason for deportation) or a flawed program and loss of some or all of their $500,000 capital.
To receive the latest independent information on the EB-5 visa contact Which EB5
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Tags: due diligence, EB-5 clients, EB-5 Visa, I-829, research, too late, uscis, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
September 15th, 2011 |
 It has become apparent that there was a lot of important information to be learnt from the research carried out by our previous 250 plus clients, as well as their experience with the various Regional Center programs they selected.
Families looking at the EB-5 over the years have used different approaches to decide which is the most appropriate regional center program for them. Some just wanted to know which regional centers with proven programs best matched their requirements, others spent literally months working with us on looking in great details at all the options and then undertook very detailed additional due diligence on a shortlist.
A number of these clients bring considerable business, financial and legal experience to these checks as they are leading accountants, CEOs, lawyers, and business owners and thus they know exactly what qualities they are looking for and require very detailed information.
Feedback from these families, who we have successfully worked with, all add to the important information we can provide for those of you looking for as much detailed and impartial advice on the various EB5 programs. Interestingly, these are not necessarily the programs heavily promoted in non-English speaking countries, and the reasons for this are particularly interesting!
The EB-5 visa requires a $500,000 investment in a United States Citizenship and Immigration center (USCIS) Regional Center Programs. The track record of these programs varies considerably and investment terms can be as little as four years. It is vital you obtain independent information from experienced advisers prior to making a decision on Regional Center programs.
If you would like more information on these visa options and a free consultation contact the EB-5 Visa experts at Which EB5.
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Tags: accountants, CEO's, due diligence, eb-5, eb5, EB5 visa experts, impartial advice, information, lawyers, regional center, research, uscis, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
August 29th, 2011 |
 When a client expresses how they feel about your service it can be enlightening and can also remind you how, when you have the clients interests at heart, people appreciate what you do. We recently received the following unsolicited comments from a Which EB5 client and thought we should share these with you.
“Had it not been for the advice & guidance from the folks at Which EB-5.com, we would likely have ended in an EB-5 project that takes us nowhere: no Green Card &/or very risky.
Their knowledge and honest dedication to their clients is a blessing to all of us who are getting into this process. No attorney has done the research of the different options as Chase Brodsky and Stephen Parnell have done. They went through every project in the market with us explaining the risks and benefits of each. They pointed us towards a most helpful attorney, their help was of great value.
We recommend Stephen and Chase to everyone interested in getting the Green Card through the EB-5 method. And best of all, there is no cost for their services. SM “
Our client has requested that we do not use his full name here due to safety issues.
(Original letter available in our office).
We would really like to add you to our growing list of happy clients. Please contact Chase Brodsky, our client services director, to arrange a free personal one-on-one consultation.
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Tags: attorney, benefits, EB-5 Visa, green card, research, risks, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
February 25th, 2011 |
As part of our ongoing research we have identified significant potential problems with a number of EB5 programs. We remain concerned that some families focus only on the legal implications of the EB-5 visa and seek minimal advice about the positives and negatives of the various regional centers or ask the wrong questions on the investment implications.
Even when looking at the investment side all too often clients start by asking which particular regional center program gives the highest return on their investment. This is not only the WRONG QUESTION TO ASK from a visa perspective, it can also be extremely dangerous.
With so many regional centers offering the EB5 pilot program, over 130 at the latest count, it is inevitable issues would arise sooner or later particularly with some investors from counties where English is not their first language. Frequently these families are reliant on local sales agents representing one or two programs and it is possible that a significant number of investors do not realize the weaknesses of the program they are offered.
A center that has, according to a recent report, run into problems sold extensively in Asia. The legal advice these families obtained focused mainly on obtaining the visa but the majority of investors failed to obtain separate independent advice on any other options and the implications of the center in question.
The problem now is not only do they stand to lose at least some of their investment by making the wrong decision on their choice of program but also their right to stay in the USA if the project fails and the jobs are not created.
As part of our process we monitor programs closely to identify issues which is, as you can imagine, a full time occupation – being aware of what is happening on the ground is very important and impossible to do if you are several thousand miles away relying on a local sales agent or an attorney focused specifically on just the legal immigration question as opposed to all the implications of the EB-5 program.
There are some excellent programs available and the EB5 visa is for many both the fastest and only option for permanent residency but obtaining impartial advice is very important. For more information contact Which EB5.
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Tags: Asia, eb-5, eb5, legal immigration, permanent residence, pilot program, programs, regional center, research, USA, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
February 14th, 2011 |
As part of our ongoing research we have identified significant potential problems with a number of EB-5 regional center programs. We remain concerned that some families focus only on the legal implications of the EB-5 visa and seek minimal advice about the positives and negatives of the various regional centers or ask the wrong questions on the investment implications.
Even when looking at the investment side all too often clients start by asking which particular regional center program gives the highest return on their investment. This is not only the WRONG QUESTION TO ASK from a visa perspective, it can also be extremely dangerous.
With so many regional centers offering the EB5 visa program, over 130 at the latest count, it is inevitable issues would arise sooner or later particularly with some investors from counties where English is not their first language. Frequently these families are reliant on local sales agents representing one or two programs and it is possible that a significant number of investors do not realize the weaknesses of the program they are offered.
A center that has, according to a recent report, run into problems sold extensively in Asia. The legal advice these families obtained focused mainly on obtaining the visa but the majority of investors failed to obtain separate independent advice on any other options and the investment implications of the center in question.
The problem now is not only do they stand to lose at least some of their investment by making the wrong decision on their program of choice but also their right to stay in the USA if the project fails and the jobs are not created.
As part of our process we monitor programs closely to identify issues which is, as you can imagine, a full time occupation – being aware of what is happening on the ground is very important and impossible to do if you are several thousand miles away relying on a local sales agent or an attorney focused specifically on just the legal immigration question as opposed to the investment visa.
There are some excellent programs available and the EB5 visa is for many both the fastest and only option for permanent residency but obtaining impartial advice is very important. For more information contact Which EB5.
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Tags: Asia, dangerous, eb-5, eb5, independent advice, investment, problem, regional center, research, sales agents, USA, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
October 19th, 2010 |
As part of the investigations carried out when writing the only consumer guide (Green Card via the Red Carpet) on the implications of the EB-5 visa research was undertaken on the information available for immigrants undertaking due diligence into the various EB-5 regional centers.
The internet is often the first point of information for many people. However all may not be as it appears at first sight, this is illustrated by the following problems:-
- EB-5 websites that appear independent and seem to provide impartial and useful information, often with some legal explanations. However after undertaking extensive investigations when researching our book, sites were uncovered where the information presented as independent was actually provided by a specific regional center. There would be nothing wrong with this if this was made clear to the reader that the site is actually written for and on-behalf of a particular center – remember sites tend not to criticize their own programs!
- Self-help advice from individuals own web sites, some of whom are in the process of applying for the EB5 others from emigrants trying to be helpful. The problem here can be that everybody has different requirements. Assuming that the circumstances relating to someone else’s decision process mirrors your own requirements can be potentially dangerous.
- Emigration forum sites can seem helpful and the chatty exchanges seem reassuring. However having researched these in some depth it is evident that these sites contain potential dangers, including examples of commenters (unknowingly) recommending centers that have been subject to alleged fraud, I-829 refusals and court action.
- Some sites seem to be offering sound advice – the problem can be that they have simply copied this information from other sites. The worry is how they can provide competent follow up advice if they themselves have inadequate experience and knowledge of the programs which they may not even have visited.
For further information on the pros and cons of regional center programs please contact us to arrange a consultation.
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Tags: eb-5, eb5, emigration, Green Card via the Red Carpet, I-829, immigrant investor, independent, information, internet, regional center, research, visa, websites
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
September 7th, 2010 |
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To give you some background into this blog I should explain that my business partner and I at Which EB5 have very different personalities. Generally this difference works well for the benefit of our clients, particularly in identifying the strength and weaknesses of regional center programs.
We recently discussed a number of regional centers where some investors had experienced problems. For example, in the case of one center failed I-526’s, in the case of another center, failed I-829’s and a third center where not enough people had invested to allow the program to fully fund.
Obviously when discussing this we could see plainly enough the negatives of those particular programs, indeed we had raised issues regarding these centers many months before with our clients who had chosen other perhaps more proven options. By the way, for those of you about to invest who would like the names of the centers with the problems contact us and we will go through these with you.
We subsequently undertook quite a lot of research on these issues and delving deeper into the circumstances came up with some interesting information regarding what happened to some of the investors in those particular programs. We were surprised to discover that a number of these investors had decided to reinvest in another program and their choice of one particular program was quite enlightening.
We found the actions of these investors somewhat intriguing in that clearly anyone who had been through a program and failed had to be more cautious regarding their choice of regional center programs, much more so than the average investor as they are able to apply lessons from their previous bad experiences. We therefore thought it would be useful to look in more detail at the programs they had subsequently chosen, and why. For those of you currently considering the regional center program contact us and we will be happy to go through all this information with you.
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Tags: failed, I-526, I-829, investors, regional center, research, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
November 10th, 2009 |
 In an attempt to determine which is the most appropriate regional center program some families carry out due diligence with statistics.
The problem with statistics is they display data any way the supplying companies want. Are the centers with the highest number of approvals the best choice for you?
Statistics may give you the figures, they will not give you all the conclusions to draw from them.
For example, the statistics will not tell you:
• If the I-526 and/or I-829 approvals were for a particular project and the center now operates a different type of program.
• They will not tell you if USCIS has changed its perspective on the program for that regional center.
• The statistics will not tell you the likelihood or otherwise of investors getting their capital investment back from that center.
• They will not tell you the implications of most of the applicants coming from a particular country.
Statistics make up an element of your due diligence but they must be taken in context to have any value for you. If you want to know how and if the statistics you have are a contributing factor for you you can ask us questions via email at: info@whicheb5.com or by calling us at: +1-559-EB5-INFO
The EB-5 Investor Green Card regional center visa program can be an excellent way to quickly become a permanent resident of the United States. Which EB5 researches regional centers; you make the same investment plus get all the independent advice of Which EB-5 at no cost to you.
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Tags: (559)-EB5-INFO, due diligence, eb-5, I-526, I-829, investor green card, investors, regional center, research, statistics, united states, uscis, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
October 6th, 2009 |
For those of you looking for families who have EB-5 visa experience and have subsequently settled in America, or are looking for facts on regional centers or attorneys who have the greatest experience of EB-5 options, there is now a wide range of detailed information available to you.
As the EB-5 program has now been operating for several years there are a numbers of families who have experienced the entire cycle. They originally obtained their I-526′s, had conditions removed via the I-829, have lived in the US long enough to apply for citizenship, and have had a return on their original $500,000 investment or are due to in the next few months.
Their experience on the return on their investments are particularly interesting for those considering the EB-5 option as some investing in particular centers received back less than they originally invested; others are likely to receive back at least the $500.000 they initially invested plus interest.
It is also interesting to analyze the relative experience of the sixty plus regional centers that have been approved by the USCIS to offer regional center EB-5 programs. Again there are significant differences when using different criteria to measure results. All of which are important for potential EB5 investors to consider.
If you are seeking feedback of either immigrants experience of the EB-5 or the experience of the various regional centers it would be worth contacting WhichEB5 who have carried out research in these areas. Visit Which EB5 now for full information.
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Tags: America, attorney, eb-5, eb5, eb5 investors, experience, I-526, I-829, investment, options, regional center, research, uscis, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
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