What should I do if I withdrew my application but the regional center refuse to pay me back?

Your offering documentation contains terms about your exit strategy as an EB-5 investor upon the occurrence of certain events, such as withdrawal before I-526 approval. You need to review that and also consult a securities lawyer to see what options you may have.

I would revisit the offering documents and determine the conditions for requesting return of your investment. Most offering documents would unequivocally indicate that in the event of a denial, the NCE will refund the $500,000 within 90 days. Having said that, offering documents may treat withdrawals of I-526 differently in terms of refunding the investment. In some cases, if the investor withdraws the I-526 without the fault of the NCE or JCE, the investment stays with the NCE up to the completion of the original terms; and in some offerings, withdrawal of I-526 means an automatic refund of the capital the investor. Ultimately, you would need to really review the offering documents on the issue of refund. Additionally, I have also seen projects take a replacement investor (that would replace your investment) allowing the NCE to have enough capital to return the existing $500,000 of the investor.

Consult your agreement with the Regional Center regarding the conditions and procedure for return of capital investment.

The terms and conditions of your investment should be contained in the subscription agreement and other agreements you signed with the regional center. You need an attorney to review those documents with you and to determine your rights and obligations, as well as the rights and obligations of the regional center.

Your rights to recoup your $500,000 through a particular EB-5 Regional Center project depends upon a number of factors including the terms of your investment as laid out in your EB-5 documentation, including the private placement memorandum. The legal requirement of a regional center to refund your investment and the timing of same should be addressed in those documents. The other factor, of course, is the ability of the regional center to refund the proceeds since the funds would normally have been expended in conjunction with the project as per the EB-5 documentation. It may well be that your best bet will be to determine from the regional center when they will have the capacity to refund your funds, which may well be when the project is completed and, if it''s a real estate project, it is fully leased or sold to third parties or under the same terms and conditions of the other EB-5 investors after a stipulated period of years.

Generally, in this type of situation, the exit clause of the investment would have provided a guideline for both parties: investor(s) and the regional center. Also, your agreement with the regional center needs to be thoroughly vetted as your investment fund should have been in an escrow and not used until your petition is approved. It is advisable that you consult with an attorney right away to pursue all resolution and legal remedies available.

You will need to review the offering documents you signed and determine under what circumstances you would be entitled to receive your investment funds back. Please note your investment may be classified as a separate transaction than the immigration process.

You need to review the limited partnership and subscription agreements to see what your rights are. There are several excellent regional centers that will give you the full investment amount if you withdraw, but there are many — not so good ones — that some migration agents sell that will hold the money for a full five or more years. Some people may never give you back the investment, if the project fails.

It all depends on the PPM and other offering documents. You should consult with competent EB-5 immigration counsel.

You will need a litigator in the state where they are to review the documents you signed with the regional center to see what you are entitled to and when.

If the regional center refuses to refund your money, you could sue in state court for the return of your money.

You should gather your investment documents and have a legal counsel review them to discuss your options.

Check the investment documents you signed for the proper process for seeking a return of capital. You and the regional center are bound by the agreement you signed.

You should immediately meet with your investment immigration lawyer to see if he or she can help you. With EB-5 it is important for you to have been advised that you made an investment that is illiquid and this investment is a separate matter from your EB-5 application. Your investment immigration attorney may be able to work with the regional center to substitute a new investor to take over your position giving the regional center the capital to repay you. Do not delay in consulting with your counsel.