January 16th, 2012 |
How long does an EB5 I-526 petition take?
Continuing our series on questions about the facts behind the EB5 visa, today we consider a question many applicants feel to be important when looking at regional center options.
Although The United States Citizenship and Immigration service (USCIS) regularly publish guidelines on the processing time for I-526 petitions, there continues to be differences between processing times for different regional center programs.
In the last month we have seen examples of I-526 petitions granted in less than two months for a client of one regional center and another petition for a client from a different center that took over a year. If you have a limited amount of time to get your EB5 visa approval you need to know which regional centers are faster than others.
In many ways this does not surprise us as it has become clear that some regional centers are far more in tune with USCIS guidelines than others as far as their paperwork and business plans which are clearly in line with the latest USCIS requirements.
If you are considering the EB5 visa, and speed of processing is an important issue for you, it is important to keep in mind that some regional center publicity material and some of their sales agents are not being accurate in their claims about processing times for their programs. Claims have been made which are contrary to reality.
Many regional centers make outlandish claims about how long it takes them to get an I-526 approval but very few can actually prove they enjoy consistently fast approvals; ask us for details of these centers so you can enjoy these genuinely fast approvals.
To find out the latest information about the processing times for EB5 visas, and the positive and negative aspects of various regional center programs contact Chase Brodsky at Which EB5
|
| |
Tags: eb5, EB5 visa, I-526, regional center, uscis, visa, Which EB5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
December 19th, 2011 |
 Today we have published a very informative article on our Which EB5 website entitled:
Obtaining the EB-1 Green Card from L-1 Visa is Not Possible for Most Small Businesses
This article takes a long hard look at potential alternatives to the EB-5 immigrant investor visa and the risks that this particular alternative contains.
An extract from the article:
Many businesspeople, who plan to maintain a business in their home country, have started a small business in the U.S. with the plan to obtain permanent residence through the EB-1 Multinational Manager and Executive category. However, the majority of such people fail to reach the goal of obtaining permanent residence in this category. Why? The general answer is that USCIS’s decision track record in the EB-1 permanent residence and L-1 visa categories indicates that it believes that only the employees of large corporations are worthy of the green card in the EB-1 category, and eligible for extensions in the L-1 visa category.
To read the entire article simply click on the link below:
Obtaining the EB-1 Green Card from L-1 Visa is Not Possible for Most Small Businesses
Look out for more informative articles from EB5 Visa Experts in the days and weeks to come.
If you would like to speak to an experienced EB5 attorney and/or consultant, please feel free to email us at info@WhichEB5.com or call us at +1-561-771-1330
+Stephen Parnell
|
| |
Tags: attorney, consultant, EB-1, eb-5, EB-5 Visa, expert, green card, immigrant investor, L1, permanent residence, visa, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
December 14th, 2011 |
 H-1B visa holders who are approaching the six-year limit on their visa may find they face a major problem in holding onto their jobs and maintaining their lives in the USA. Once an H-1B visa holder has reached the six-year limit, or if they are laid off, the ability to extend the H-1B visa is often gone. In many cases, unless the person can qualify for a different visa, it becomes necessary to leave the U.S. for a year to restore H-1B visa eligibility.
Even if the H-1B visa holder manages to hold on to the job and the visa sponsorship, it can take many years to get permanent residency status (green cards) despite years of waiting. It has been pointed out that if you are an Indian or Chinese professional with an advanced degree, due to the country-specific green card backlog in the EB-2 category, you are little better off than your fellow countrymen with a bachelor’s degree.
Students holding F1 visas also face problems given the current economy has created a difficult job market, particularly at a time when there are many highly qualified U.S. citizens and permanent residents available who do not need H-1B visa sponsorship. In some cases, overseas students are even having a difficult time to find an employer just to maintain eligibility to stay in the U.S. for the optional practical training period, let alone to find sponsorship for an H-1B visa or the green card.
With the help of the EB5 visa program, people in these difficult situations can get green cards. The EB-5 visa program has its own specific annual quota of green cards and at present there is no backlog. The only delay is the about one year that it can take to go through the entire EB-5 immigration process.
Once the EB-5 investor obtains conditional residence they have all the rights and benefits of a permanent resident. This means they are no longer dependent on the existing U.S. employer, or on finding employment with a U.S. employer, indeed they can even go into business for themselves.
The EB-5 visa can give freedom, more career options, competing on equal terms with U.S. citizens and permanent residents in the labor market and business world, and the security that allows you to stay in the U.S.
As long as you maintain your investment in a regional center that achieves its business plan and creates 10 jobs per investor you will receive permanent residence after the two-year conditional period.
The importance of obtaining independent impartial advice before considering relocation to the USA is critical. As a first step it is worth reading the only published consumer guide on the EB-5 process Green Card via the Red Carpet.
For more impartial information on the EB-5 visa contact EB5 Experts at Which EB5 via Email or telephone at +1-561-771-1330
|
| |
Tags: chinese, eb-2, EB-5 Visa, eb5, eb5 experts, F1, green card, Green Card via the Red Carpet, H-1B, Immigration, permanent residence, sponsorship, USA, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
November 22nd, 2011 |
 Rarely a week goes by without us hearing about another lie involving the regional center EB5 visa to the USA. It is no wonder that our Chinese associates regularly tell us of concerns by potential Chinese EB-5 immigrants to the USA on the information they are coming across.
We have discovered a worrying amount of misinformation in China about the visa and immigration to the USA.
Some potential EB-5 applicants are being advised that buying a property in The USA would lead to a visa, indeed there are examples of Estate Agents in the USA advertising this apparent option. However, although such a program is being considered, currently it does not exist and given US political views many feel it is unlikely to pass into law. Therefore buying a house/property in the USA will not currently gain you resident status.
Other lies involve promises and guarantees given by a number of the EB-5 Regional Center promoters and agents. Again we have heard through our Chinese associates about presentations being given in China which contain information which is absolutely wrong.
The big problem is that if an EB-5 applicant selects the wrong Regional Center program they risk losing their $500,000 capital and face potential deportation from the USA. There have already been regional centers which have been removed from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service approved list for EB-5 programs. Unfortunately some Chinese investors had already applied for the EB-5 visa through these centers!
For the latest information on this subject or for further independent information on the EB-5 visa and/or details of our Chinese associates please contact us at info@WhichEB5.com or call us on: +1-561-771-1330
|
| |
Tags: china, EB-5 Visa, eb5, immigrants, lies, regional center, Relocation, USA, visa, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
November 9th, 2011 |
 All too often enquiries about the EB-5 visa as an option for permanent residence in the USA are met with a mass of positive comments extolling the virtue of the visa, or a particular regional center program.
While it is true at the current time that the majority of clients who used the EB-5 visa program a few years ago have received their visas, had conditions removed and in some programs, received all their capital back, this is not to say such a satisfactory outcome has been or will be the case in every situation.
There have been a small but none the less worrying number of situations where things have gone wrong for EB-5 subscribers. In many of these cases the issues they experienced could have been avoided if they were told of potential problems at the very start of their enquiries into the EB-5 regional center program. However, all too often families are given all the positives and none of the negatives.
It is important to get detailed impartial, independent information including the negative aspects from experienced experts, before choosing the EB-5 regional center programs that best matches your own specific requirements.
To receive the latest independent information on the EB-5 visa contact the experts at Which EB5 today
|
| |
Tags: EB-5 Visa, permanent residence, regional center, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
November 7th, 2011 |
 For those applying for permanent residence in the USA via the EB-5 regional center visa program the process certainly seemed a lot simpler a few years ago. For a start there were only a handful of regional centers to choose from in 2007 where today there are about 200 approved by United States citizenship and Immigration service (USCIS) to offer programs.
Despite concerns at the time that those early investors were entering unchartered waters all those first few centers have remained in business several years later.
Nowadays the EB-5 visa has given birth to a whole industry, but all is not always as it seems. Sales and marketing hype has become an increasing feature with promises and guarantees made that are unlikely to always be kept. A number of regional center programs have been terminated by USCIS not long after opening but having already recruited unfortunate Chinese clients.
A few people who used to champion the protection of the EB-5 applicant and warn about the dangers of the sales people have themselves become sales people sometimes selling their own products in China.
It has become ever more important to get detailed impartial, independent information from experienced experts before choosing the EB-5 regional center programs that best matches your own specific requirements.
Many who are starting the EB-5 process to achieve permanent residence status in the USA (green cards) have found it useful to begin their research by reading the only published consumer guide on the EB-5 visa pilot program Green Card via the Red Carpet.
To receive the latest independent information on the EB-5 visa contact Which EB5
|
| |
Tags: chinese, eb-5, EB-5 Visa, experianced, green card, Green Card via the Red Carpet, impartial, independent, permanent residence, regional center, USA, uscis, visa, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
November 2nd, 2011 |
 It seems that hardly a day goes by without the announcement of yet another regional center program that has been approved by The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). With the number of approved centers likely to head any day beyond the 200 figure some may feel that choice is a good thing, after all choice is very much the American way.
Although the choice certainly offers many options for the prospective EB-5 applicant it also raises some potential problems. The EB-5 is after all a visa requiring longer term considerations such as:-
• Will the all-important ten jobs be created?
• Will I get my I-829 or face potential deportation after living in the USA for two years?
• Will I get my $500,000 back?
New regional centers cannot refer to a measurable track record on any of the above issues and are not able to be easily compared against programs from existing regional centers. However, not all the established regional centers have been trouble-free either. One of the longest established and largest regional center programs has had refusals at the I-829 stage and has a long-standing request for further evidence (RFE) on one of its more recent programs.
There are regional centers that have an excellent track record and newer ones that maybe worthwhile prospects, the importance of doing in-depth due diligence cannot be under estimated.
Many who are starting the EB-5 process to achieve permanent residency status in the USA (green cards) have found it useful to begin their research by reading the only published consumer guide on the EB-5 visa pilot program Green Card via the Red Carpet.
WhichEB5 has a 100% track record in assisting applicants from all over the world in obtaining an EB-5 visa.
To receive the latest independent information on the EB-5 contact info@WhichEB5.com
|
| |
Tags: due diligence, eb-5, green card, I-829, regional center, removal of conditions, USA, uscis, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
October 27th, 2011 |
 A report in the economic section of The Times of India recently looked at the EB-5 visa as the fastest route to gain permanent residency status in The USA for the applicant and their immediate family.
The article quoted Stephanie Ostapowich of The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) as stating “The programme facilitates foreign entrepreneurs’ capital investment that creates or preserves US jobs by supporting the establishment of new commercial enterprises or help troubled US-based businesses in economically distressed areas.”
The article also quoted recent reports by the National Foundation for American Policy which tracks immigration data. The report stated that getting a Green Card for Indians who have received a university degree from the US can take many years given the large number of visa-seekers and the limited number of visas available. Indian Green Card seekers who have a degree from an American University typically apply in the EB3 visa category.
The EB-5 visa may be of particular interest to wealthy Indian families whose children wish to pursue a University degree and then a career in the USA. Permanent residency status can enable a student to immediately benefit from lower tuition fees and work wherever they like without restriction in the USA. However, the article contains some information which requires closer examination as it indicates investments in a certain program have been retained on average 28 months. This cannot be correct if those investments had been to secure an EB-5 visa. Processing and holding requirements would make it unlikely that funds could be returned before a minimum of four years from the initial inception.
The EB-5 visa requires a commitment of $500,000 in a Regional Center program; the United States Citizenship and Immigration service (USCIS) have so far approved nearly 200 such centers. However, their performance is extremely variable, some have a 100% track record where others are the subject of ongoing investigation by the authorities.
Many who are starting the EB-5 process have found it useful to begin researching the EB-5 by reading the only published consumer guide on the EB-5 visa pilot program: Green Card via the Red Carpet.
Which EB5 has a 100% track record in assisting Indian applicants in obtaining an EB-5 Visa.
To receive the latest independent information on the EB-5 contact Chase Brodsky at Which EB5
|
| |
Tags: eb-5, EB-5 Visa, EB3, green card, Green Card via the Red Carpet, Immigration, India, indian, National Foundation for American Policy, permanent residency, student, Times of India, uscis, visa, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
October 25th, 2011 |
 There has been a significant increase in the number of enquiries from wealthy Russian and Ukrainian business people who have looked at the fastest way to gain permanent residency in the USA for themselves and their families.
Interest in the EB-5 regional center visa, which requires putting $500,000 into a US Government approved regional center program, has increased over the past two months from both Russia and Ukraine. Wealthy clients are looking to start the process as soon as possible; this visa route is currently due to end in September 2012.
Russian businessmen have been concerned by the potential election of Vladimir Putin as President with concerns on possible tax implications and a hardening of attitudes towards business people. The likelihood of Putin returning as President may coincide with the Russian economy slowing down due to a fall in demand and prices for raw materials which account for 60% of Russian export earnings. A number of wealthy Russians are seeking to move to The USA before this happens.
The prosecution and jailing of the former Ukrainian prime minister and opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has been a matter of concern to many people there as it’s seen as a move towards a more authoritarian administration. There has been widespread commentary and concern that the jailing could be a sign that Ukraine is heading towards possible autocratic rule.
Many who are starting the EB-5 process have found it useful to begin researching the EB-5 by reading the only published consumer guide on the EB-5 visa pilot program: Green card via the Red Carpet
|
| |
Tags: eb-5, Green Card via the Red Carpet, permanent residence, regional center, Russia, Ukraine, USA, visa, Vladimir Putin, Yulia Tymoshenko
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
October 24th, 2011 |
 At any one time it is likely that a number of those involved in the EB-5 regional center visa business are on a selling trip to China, they are selling their programs to third-party Chinese agents or directly to Chinese consumers. This focus on China is due to the fact that such a high percentage of EB-5 applicants are from China.
Unfortunately, not all the people advising on the EB-5 will have got in their cars or taken plane journeys and actually travelled to the various regional center programs, spent several days looking around areas and carried out detailed due diligence on the area surrounding a regional center project.
The importance of independent advice and detailed due diligence cannot be understated. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) have already closed two regional centers. Both these centers had already attracted investors from China. If those clients had sought the right independent expert advice before choosing those centers, they could have been warned about potential inadequacies with these centers.
A number of centers have had I-829 refusals, leaving the unlucky EB-5 visa holders facing potential deportation at some stage in the future. Again one wonders if these people received detailed due diligence information prior to their choice.
Another program failed to create the necessary ten jobs; result, the unlucky clients failed to get I-829 approval and after settling down in the USA will now face potential deportation.
It needs to be realized that the EB-5 visa program is about far more than sales. At the end of the day immigrants are putting their trust, their families trust, their future and $500,000 of assets on the basis of choosing the program that best matches their needs, the need for adequate due diligence should never be underestimated.
Many who are starting the EB-5 process have found it useful to begin researching the EB-5 by reading the only published consumer guide on the EB-5 visa pilot program: Green card via the Red Carpet.
|
| |
Tags: china, chinese, deportation, due diligence, eb-5, EB-5 Visa, Green Card via the Red Carpet, I-829, immigrants, regional center, USA, uscis, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
|
