How and when do you get a physical conditional green card in the EB-5 process? - EB5Investors.com

How and when do you get a physical conditional green card in the EB-5 process?

I’ve been doing so much research on EB-5 but am still struggling to understand parts of the process. I am going to list how I understand the process to work and then state my questions. First, the I-526 application approved, then consular processing happens along with biometric data. Next, the immigrant visa is granted and valid for 6 months. This is a visa in your passport that allows you to travel to the US and enter as an immigrant/conditional permanent resident. Then, you can travel to America within 6 months. Once you get the entrance stamp on your passport, you are granted conditional permanent residency for 2 years. My question is: At what point do you get the physical conditional green card that you can put in your wallet? Do you receive this by post? Is it handed to you at the airport? How do you get it? Further, does the 2-year conditional permanent residency period start once your immigrant visa is granted in your passport, once you enter America or at a different time?

Answers

Charles Foster

Charles Foster

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Your understanding of the process is partially correct. It is true that, once the immigrant visa is granted, it is valid for admission to the United States for 180 days. It is only when you are admitted to the United States that you become a Permanent Resident, you receive a stamp on your passport and your Permanent Resident Card is mailed to the address of your U.S. residence. You will get the physical conditional Lawful Permanent Resident card referred to colloquially as a "green card" in the mail after you are admitted into the United States, within several months.

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Fredrick W Voigtmann

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The physical green card is produced and mailed by the U.S. mail to your U.S. residence address within a few weeks after your arrival in the United States as a conditional lawful permanent resident. At the airport or other port of entry, you will receive a temporary stamp on your passport that is good for travel for one year. The period of conditional residence starts when you enter the United States, not when you receive your green card.

BoBi Ahn

BoBi Ahn

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Your entry into the U.S. using the Immigrant Visa triggers the processing of the actual card. The card should be produced and mailed to the address you provided for your U.S. address within 2-3 months from entry into the U.S.

Lynne Feldman

Lynne Feldman

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

After you enter the U.S. with your packet of papers from the consulate, you give that packet to the CBP Officer. This is sent to USCIS to create your PR card which arrives in the mail within 2-6 weeks after entering the U.S. After receiving the immigrant visa in your passport, you need to immediately go online and pay a $220 fee which pays for creating the plastic card.

Barbara Suri

Barbara Suri

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The two-year conditional residency begins upon entry into the U.S. The physical card is created at a Service Center and mailed to you.

Alice Antonovsky

Alice Antonovsky

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

After you are issued your immigrant visa at a US Embassy abroad and prior to your departure to the US, you will need to pay a USCIS immigrant fee of $220 to process your paperwork and produce your permanent residence card. After you enter the United States with your immigrant visa and provided you paid the above-mentioned immigrant fee, you will then receive a conditional green card at the US mailing address indicated on your immigrant visa documents. Your conditional residence will be valid for 2 years from the date of entry into the US.

Anusree Nair

Anusree Nair

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

With respect to when you become a conditional resident: The first day you enter the U.S. on your valid immigrant visa, you become a conditional resident. You will get an entry stamp on your passport upon entry. Your visa and entry stamp serve as proof of your resident status for one year or until you get your physical green card in your hand, whichever comes first. With respect to when you get a physical green card: Generally, within 45-60 days of entry, you should get a physical copy of your green card in the mail. The green card will list your entry date as your first day of conditional resident status. Note: Once you obtain the immigrant visa stamp in your passport, you will receive instructions to pay an additional fee for the production of your green card. I recommend that investors pay this fee as soon as they receive these instructions and before they enter the U.S. for the first time on the immigrant visa. If the investor waits until after he/she enters the U.S. to pay the fee, the production of the green card can be delayed.

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

About one month after you enter, you should receive the physical card. 21 months after this date of entry, you file the I-829 Removal of Conditions application.

Jinhee Wilde

Jinhee Wilde

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The immigration process is quite long and confusing. When you get your immigrant visa approved at the consulate, you will be given instruction to pay the Immigrant Fee to USCIS to produce the green card. When you enter, the card will be mailed to the address that you indicated in the DS-260 application to receive the card. Often, as my clients will not have a valid address in the U.S. before arriving in the U.S., I allow them to list my office address to receive the card and will then Fed Ex out to the new U.S. address after they have settled. The card will normally be issued within 1-2 months after your entry.

Phuong Le

Phuong Le

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Generally speaking, if you are overseas, your conditional permanent residency begins when you enter the US on your EB-5 visa. USCIS will mail you (or your attorney) a physical copy of your card shortly afterward.

Ying Lu

Ying Lu

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The green card is usually issued within 45 days after you arrive in the U.S. with your immigrant visa. It will be mailed via USPS to you at the address you provided on the DS-260 form. Your two-year conditional residency begins on the first day of your arrival in the U.S. with the newly issued EB-5 immigrant visa.

Stephen Berman

Stephen Berman

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

They mail you the card and you get it a few weeks after you are admitted.

Belma Demirovic Chinchoy

Belma Demirovic Chinchoy

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You will receive the CGC in the mail following your admission into the US on an immigrant visa. The CGC validity period starts on the date of your admission into the US as an immigrant/conditional permanent resident.

DISCLAIMER: the information found on this website is intended to be general information; it is not legal or financial advice. Specific legal or financial advice can only be given by a licensed professional with full knowledge of all the facts and circumstances of your particular situation. You should seek consultation with legal, immigration, and financial experts prior to participating in the EB-5 program. Posting a question on this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. All questions you post will be available to the public: do not include confidential information in your question.