How can the spouse of an H-1B/F-1 holder invest in EB-5? - EB5Investors.com

How can the spouse of an H-1B/F-1 holder invest in EB-5?

I am in the country as a dependent of a H-1/F-1 visa holder, and I want to invest directly to establish a business and obtain a visa under the EB-5 program. The H-1/F-1 holder should in turn be able to adjust his status to become the spouse”s dependent under the EB5 program. How can I make this work? What steps do I need to take?

Answers

Reza Rahbaran

Reza Rahbaran

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You may file for an EB-5 visa while under H-1B or F-1 status. You will file as the principal applicant and your spouse will be a derivative beneficiary in the I-526. You and your spouse may file for adjustment of status in the U.S. as long as you both remain in a valid status when the I-526 petition is approved.

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Yes; you can become the petitioner and principal investor applicant for your EB-5 case. As long as you are in the United States when your I-526 petition is approved and you are maintaining a lawful non-immigrant status (and there is an immigrant visa number available), you and your spouse may file your adjustment of status applications.

Gregory Romanovsky

Gregory Romanovsky

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

This is all doable. You just need to have a good immigration attorney assisting you with this case.

Ed Beshara

Ed Beshara

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

While you and your spouse are maintaining either F-1 or H-1B status you can file your I-526 petition, obtain approval, and then file your application for conditional permanent residence while you are in the United States.

A Olusanjo Omoniyi

A Olusanjo Omoniyi

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You can certainly make this work just like many foreign investors who have gone through a similar process. Also, bear in mind that you must comply with the basic EB-5 requirements in terms of: 1) the financial requirements for an EB-5 visa (i.e. you must either invest $500,000 in a rural area or invest $1 million in an urban setting), 2) your investment funds must be from lawful source(s) and 3) show that your investment can produce a minimum of 10 jobs for workers, who must be citizens and permanent residents. Advisably, employ an EB-5 attorney to put your application together so that you can determine, among other things, which of the forms of the EB-5 program you want to invest in; either direct investment (where you manage the business) or through a regional center, where you can invest, but don''t have to be part of day-to-day management. This idea looks viable if properly planned and executed.

Salvatore Picataggio

Salvatore Picataggio

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

It appears you have the right idea. Adjustment from a valid U.S. non-immigrant status through an I-526 approval is possible. Retaining qualified U.S. immigration counsel will help you with the process.

Louis M Piscopo

Louis M Piscopo

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You would have to file the EB-5 petition, and once it was approved, filed for adjustment of status for yourself and your spouse as the derivative beneficiary of the petition. As long as both of you remain in valid non-immigrant status while the EB-5 petition is pending, you would remain eligible for adjustment of status. Once the adjustment of status is approved, you would be given conditional permanent residence and no longer would be non-immigrants. I do not have one question. What non-immigrant visa status do you actually have? You cannot be in the United States in both H and F statuses.

Ying Lu

Ying Lu

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

As an H-4/F-2, you can submit the I-526 petition as the petitioner. Once your I-526 is approved, you can bring your H-1/F-1 spouse to adjust status in the United States by filing I-485 applications.

Jinhee Wilde

Jinhee Wilde

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

As long as you are in a valid status, you could adjust. There is no prohibition of filing EB-5 case as an H-4. The important thing would be to make sure that your wife maintains her H-1B status while your case is pending, so that you would be in valid status to adjust. Please note that USCIS is reporting that I-526 adjudication currently takes more than 19 months.

Fariba Faiz

Fariba Faiz

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

If you already have an investment in mind, then you can just start by purchasing or starting the business from scratch. You will need to show that you have the funds for either a $1 million or $500,000 investment, depending on the location being designated a targeted employment area, or invest $500,000 directly with a regional center if you do not wish to be directly involved in operating the business. To obtain a green card through the EB-5 category, you should seek the advice of an immigration attorney.

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