What status must EB-5 employees have to count toward the minimum 10? - EB5Investors.com

What status must EB-5 employees have to count toward the minimum 10?

I am an EB-5 investor. I understand we need to keep 10 employees until the conditional green card is approved to a permanent one. One of my employees has a work authorization card, but she does not have a green card. She is “Dream Act” status (USCIS Category #A12). Will this kind of status employee count as one of the 10?

Answers

Ed Beshara

Ed Beshara

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The EB-5 regulations and policies require the hiring of 10 full-time employees who have to be either U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents.

Salvatore Picataggio

Salvatore Picataggio

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Direct employees must be lawful permanent residents or U.S. citizens.

Charles Foster

Charles Foster

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The 10 U.S. workers must be either U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States with a so-called "green card."

John J Downey

John J Downey

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Anyone permitted to work is considered an employee and for full-time they must be employed 35 hours per week.

Peter Zhang

Peter Zhang

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The rule is that they have to be U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or refugee/asylees. Anything outside of that range will not qualify.

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Sadly, not a U.S. worker.

Jinhee Wilde

Jinhee Wilde

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Technically, if the person has the proper EAD card, the person is authorized to work in the United States and should count. However, it has been a constant struggle on direct EB-5 cases to prove that the job positions have been created and that they are occupied with the valid U.S. workers, i.e., green card holders or citizens. This is something that you should work with your EB-5 immigration lawyer on to make a persuasive argument in your I-829 application.

BoBi Ahn

BoBi Ahn

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Only employees/jobs created for 10 U.S. lawful permanent residents and/or U.S. citizens may be counted toward meeting the requirements for the job creation portion of EB-5.

Raymond Lahoud

Raymond Lahoud

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

An "employee" is an individual who provides services or labor in exchange for compensation. "Full-time employment" requires a minimum of 35 working hours per week. This does not include independent contractors. Nonimmigrants (those with E, H, L and other temporary worker visas) are not considered U.S. workers for this purpose. Moreover, the investor and his or her family members are not considered as U.S. workers for the 10 full-time employees requirement. Investors are not required to hire 10 employees at the time of initial investment. They may provide a petition with a comprehensive business plan demonstrating the need for at least 10 employees within the next two years. The 10 jobs need to be occupied by U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, asylees or refugees.

A Olusanjo Omoniyi

A Olusanjo Omoniyi

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Any employee who is authorized to work will count, including someone with the "Dream Act" status.

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