What will happen if I give up my United States green card after I receive it through EB-5?

You can give up your green card if you choose to do so, and it will not impact your investment nor will impact your family’s green card.

Once you and your family receive permanent green cards (i.e., your two-year condition has been removed), you may give up your green card without affecting their green card status. There should not be any financial penalty, but if you are concerned about U.S. tax liability, you should consult a tax expert.

Depending on the business into which you invested, you may not be able to receive any returns on your investment or a refund (it will depend on the regional center''s documentation, if you go the regional center route). Once your family members obtain their full permanent residency status, they should be able to keep it if you abandon your green card, but during the conditional permanent residency period they may run into issues. Have you considered having your wife becoming the EB-5 investor instead?

Once your family obtains the unconditional permanent residency, then you may relinquish your unconditional permanent residency. On this basis your spouse and children may retain their residency. Your U.S. accountant will advise you on any financial liability of relinquishing your residency.

It may be more strategically beneficial if your wife is the principal investor and you and your daughter are derivative beneficiaries of her I-526 petition. You should discuss your case with an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney.

There is no financial penalty. I would seek out a qualified immigration attorney in your area; you may not have to relinquish your green card.

If you intend on giving up your green card and only letting your wife and children remain, you should consider having your wife be the investor and main green card applicant. As your income/assets could be considered as your wife''s as well, proving source of funds for her would be no different than for you. This way, you could get the green card as a derivative beneficiary, and you do not have to jeopardize their green card or your investment if you have to give up your green card before your condition could be removed or before the terms of the investment has been fulfilled or matured.

Until you successfully remove conditions on your permanent residency, you need to keep the green card and perhaps apply for a reentry permit if you will be away more than six months at a time. If not, their conditions will not be removed on their green cards, as they are derivatives on your case.

Thank you for your inquiry. You would not face any penalties and, assuming you already have unconditional green cards, your wife and daughter would be able to continue to live in the United States. That being said, there may be ways to keep your green card even if you need to stay overseas for a few years. Talk to an experienced immigration attorney.

If you receive the green card on day one and give it up on day two, you may be subject to full U.S. taxes for the entire year. If you are planning to give up your green card for tax reasons, it is better if you do not receive the card in the first place. Just have your wife and daughter apply for the green card. You can still be the source of funds if you "donate" the money to your wife for the EB-5 investment.

If you abandon your conditional green card or your permanent green card obtained through the EB-5 program, you would not suffer any penalty. However, when your (and your family''s) green cards expire, you would need to leave the country, if you and your family are here. You should know that after you receive your permanent residence (not conditional residence), you can obtain a re-entry permit that allows you to stay outside the United States for up to two years. When you have your conditional green card, you can obtain a permission to travel outside the United States (for up to three months) using Advance Parole. Perhaps you could continue to monitor your overseas business traveling back and forth.

If you have been issued a permanent green card after your I-829 is approved and decide to abandon your green card status, your wife and children can still retain their green cards. There is no financial penalty other than that you must still file a U.S. tax return and pay any applicable taxes until the tax year following the approval of the abandonment of your green card application. If you have not reached the I-829 stage of the EB-5 process and you abandon your conditional green card, then your family will also lose their conditional permanent residency status. We have many clients who have EB-5 green cards - but run successful businesses overseas - but retain their permanent residency by coming to the United States at least once a year, have property and family ties to the United States, and file an annual federal income tax return. Alternatively, if you know that you cannot meet these conditions, then perhaps your wife should be the principal investor/ petitioner on the EB-5 application and you do not need to be included in the application. That way there will be no need to file for abandonment of your green card.

There is no penalty.

If you do not wish to stay here, there may be better options for you. There is no penalty if you give up your green card. For more details, you may want to schedule a consultation.