The EB5 visa process seems to have had more than its share of misleading information and fraud over the years.

Following checks on the EB5 visa program we have come across a number of problems that could have been avoided if proper independent and impartial due diligence had been thoroughly carried out before applying for the EB5 visa.

Despite earlier complaints however, dubious sales claims continue to be made by a number of regional centers, as well as some EB5 visa consultants; these need to be looked into.

Ongoing examples of dubious claims that need further elaboration and explanation include:

“An EB5 visa in just 6 months”

While it is correct that some center programs have actually received I-526 approval from The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in a very short time period, this is certainly not the norm. If time is an important factor when you are considering permanent residence in the USA it is critical to receive independent advice on the time line record of different regional centers.

“Only government approved regional center”

While there are regional centers operated by Governments there are important issues to be aware of. The operation is via State Government not The Federal Government. Although a regional center may itself be operated by a State Government, the programs it offers are generally in the private sector. This becomes particularly important when the $500,000 the EB5 visa holder invested is to be repaid. If anything goes wrong it is highly unlikely the State will step in and repay the money, repayment will be down to the private sector program operators.

“A guaranteed return of your investment”

There are very few real guarantees in the current economic climate and although this claim has been used by agents selling EB5 visa programs outside the USA it needs to be looked at with caution.

“The safest regional center program”

One of the conditions relating to the EB5 visa requires project investment to be “at risk”, there can be no guarantees of the return of the $500,000 investment. While some programs may seek to lower risk factors no program can claim to be risk free.

These are just a few of the reasons why these statements need further research as they either fail to give the whole story or they are just plain wrong.

If you are considering the EB5 visa it is very important that you are given hard-hitting, in-depth, impartial advice from experts who have actually visited regional center programs, can arrange for you to have specialist financial and legal advice and have a 100% successful track record with several hundred EB5 visa holders.

For more information contact Chase Brodsky at Which EB5