When is the earliest an EB-5 investment can be paid back? - EB5Investors.com

When is the earliest an EB-5 investment can be paid back?

I have seen projects that mention the EB-5 loan amount will be paid back in five years after the transfer of funds into the project. But I have also read that the money can be returned only after I-829 approval. Let”s say I file the petition today – after transferring the money I might get the approval after 16 months, and after that 21 months of conditional green card period, and then 24 months of the I-829 removal process and approval of the I-829. So this entire process takes 56-60 months from now. But the projects have much earlier maturity dates of the loans. Why is this? When is the earliest an EB-5 investment can be paid back?

Answers

Salvatore Picataggio

Salvatore Picataggio

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Immigration-wise, you should wait until I-829 approval to remain in compliance with the sustained investment requirement, though other professionals interpret this as repayment is allowable after the I-829 is filed. The difference in immigration processes (and the timelines that have gotten way out of hand) and business realities of loan terms cause this discrepancy. When cases were processed in a few months, this was not an issue.

BoBi Ahn

BoBi Ahn

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You should look to your PPM for the full details on the exit strategy, as the terms of your investment and the return will be stated there and may be conditioned on all I-829 approvals.

Charles Foster

Charles Foster

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Typically it is true that it is estimated that the EB-5 loan will be paid back in about five years; that is typically the amount of time that the project developer needs to have the funds available before they are legally obligated to pay same back per their agreement with the investor. But, there are also other factors. It is equally true that the funds must be fully deployed not only throughout the period of time it takes to obtain conditional permanent residency, but also to remove conditions, which normally would take at least three to four years; thus the five-year period would include same. So in conclusion, you would be eligible to have your investment refunded upon the removal of your conditions, but the project developer may have the right contractually to keep the funds longer. Conversely, even though the developer has the right to keep the funds for only five years, from a legal point of view they may be required to keep the funds fully deployed until your conditions have been removed and the petition on Form I-829 has been approved.

A Olusanjo Omoniyi

A Olusanjo Omoniyi

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

There is no general standard on when an EB-5 investment needs to be paid back; the exit strategy varies from one agreement to the other. In most cases, the major determinant is the terms of the investment (which is typically a limited partnership under which the investment is organized) which usually include an exit clause about when an investor can withdraw. It is advisable that you consult an EB-5 attorney to pour over any agreement you may be reviewing purposely to ascertain its exit strategies prior to investing in any EB-5 venture.

Peter Zhang

Peter Zhang

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

While most projects generally have a five-year loan period, there are typically extensions in the range of two - four years. In most circumstances, it is up to the regional center or the project developer to decided whether to exercise these extensions. Furthermore, the projects and regional centers can have the right to reinvest the funds to another investment. In such case, you may not see your investment back in five years if the funds have been lent-out/invested in another project.

Jinhee Wilde

Jinhee Wilde

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

In order for I-829 be approved, you must show two things: (1) your investment is still maintained and active; and (2) that you have created the requisite number of jobs. Thus, the prudent thing to do is to wait until your I-829 is approved to get your investment back. The loan maturity date with the project is a business decision that may have been prompted by the project developer wanting to pay the loan back earlier to reduce their interest payment liability. The other reason is that many of the loans were negotiated when the adjudication times were a lot shorter and both the regional center and the project developer thought that all the process, including the I-829, would be safely done by end of the five years. However, most of the loans these days have a provision to extend the loan up to two years after the maturity date so that the above requirement of keeping the investment in place until the I-829 approval could be met for most people.

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

The safe answer is when the I-829 is approved. The second best is upon filing of the I-829, and another is that as long as the money is kept at risk in the NCE, the JCE can return - but we are waiting for final guidance on this, as we only have interim guidance. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Outreach/Draft%20Memorandum%20for%20Comment/PED-Draft_Policy_Memo_Guidance_on_the_Job_Creation_Requirement_and_Sustainme.pdf

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