What can I do to avoid project construction delay from jeopardizing my EB-5 application?

This is a tough situation. Construction delays are common and acceptable if for legitimate reasons. You should try and understand the reasons for the delay and determine if they are credible. If not, you have to try and find ways to help move the project forward, maybe together with other investors.

You may be able to withdraw your principal of $500,000 from the project and invest your $500,000 in a different EB-5 project.

I would need to see a copy of your agreements with both the regional center and with your migrant agent in order to access your situation and respond to your question.

As an EB-5 investor, you would have no more rights than those set forth in your EB-5 documentation for the project, including the private placement memorandum. You are most likely a limited partner and, as such, you have no actual control or authority. The best thing you could do, along with your fellow investors, is to forward your concern to your migration agent and ask for a detailed report as to what, if any, issues the EB-5 project is facing, and why there has been a delay in the construction. I think you should view your agent, who received a substantial commission as your primary representative, but you should also contact the attorney that represented you in preparing filing your EB-5 investor petition. You should also ask your attorney to make inquiry as to the status, and to express your concern as to the lack of progress.

It seems like you have a communication problem between the regional center and the migration agent. You could retain an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney to represent your best interests with respect to the regional center and make sure you get all project updates. As for the construction progress, there is not much you can do about that. You and your attorney should have a meeting with the regional center to go over the business plan projections/timelines to make sure that the construction does not fall too far behind without good reason. If progress is not made, this could affect I-526 approval and endanger your investment. If you have concerns, your attorney can advise you.

As long as the requisite 10 jobs were created and the other EB-5 requirements have been met, delay in and of itself does not jeopardize the EB-5 petition.

You should immediately alert your investment immigration attorney so he or she can look into the matter. This could be a serious issue if the developer or the regional center are intentionally misleading you.

If you invested through the regional center, you should contact them. As a limited partner of the project, you should be given an annual report on how your investment is performing from the general partner, which is usually the regional center. Accountability from the developer, construction manager and regional center is yours to demand.

Among other possibilities, check the offering documents for any schedules or projections on the construction. Ask for the original construction schedules and agreement if you do not have them. Continue to pressure the promoter of your investment for information for these and any related documents, as well as for compliance with the representations. If nothing happens, see if you can get other investors to work with you to get information and compliance. If nothing seems to be working, you may need to hire a lawyer who knows both construction law and EB-5 law and procedures.

There is definitely a labor shortage out there, which has negatively impacted many construction schedules; however, you should be provided with progress updates. The regional center should have retained a third-party construction risk management firm to prepare progress reports. The progress reports should just come from the general contractor.