We are Indian EB-5 investors. We filed our application in October 2018, with my wife being the principal applicant and my daughter and I as the dependents. We are worried that our daughter will age out due to the expected visa backlog for Indian nationals. Is it possible to make our daughter the principal applicant of our I-526 petition? My wife and I do not mind being excluded from the application.
Answers
Phuong Le
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYou can make your daughter the principal applicant, but chances are you'll have to file a new I-526 petition and you'll lose your current priority date. She can always petition for you later on through family-based immigration if you don't mind delaying your entry into the U.S., though.
Julia Roussinova
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYou cannot change the principal EB-5 investor in a pending I-526 petition. You may consider filing a new petition in your daughter's name as the principal EB-5 investor.
Lynne Feldman
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyI do not know if this is possible.
Salvatore Picataggio
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyImmigration-wise, you'd need a new I-526 petition. Investment-wise, you would need to remove the money and put it in your daughter's name before she makes the investment.
Hassan Elkhalil
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyNo, you cannot. You may withdraw your application and file a new application under your daughter's name.
Charles Foster
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYou cannot make your daughter the principal petitioner on your EB-5 investment petition on Form I-526 that your wife has already filed. While there are proposals to make such a change possible, as of now, your daughter would have to file a new petition and create a new priority date. It may be possible for you to work out an arrangement with the project developer to transfer your investment to your daughter's account, but again, that would acquire a new petition and a new priority date.
BoBi Ahn
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThere is no option to "switch or replace" the principal in an EB-5 petition. You would have to withdraw the pending petition and withdraw your investment if you need that capital to fund your daughter's investment, and then have your daughter file as the EB-5 investor (or, if you do not need the money from your investment for your daughter to use for her EB-5 processing, you can leave your petition/investment as is, and have her file separately).
Irina A. Rostova
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyIt is not possible to change the principal applicant. You would have to withdraw the old peri and re-file the I-526 petition anew.
Bernard P Wolfsdorf
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyWithdraw, gift the money or interest, and re-file with her as the principal.
Blake Harrison
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyUnfortunately, USCIS does not allow the principal applicant to be changed on I-526 petitions. You would need to withdraw the case and re-file with your daughter as the principal applicant.
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