By Staff
Driven by the desire for a better future amidst a challenging political climate in Hong Kong and China, Edward Lee applied for his EB-5 visa in 2017. Lee, now CEO of Nu Care in California, had his I-526 approved in about a year and a half. However, he says the most challenging part of his EB-5 journey was investing directly in a business.
What drove you to obtain the EB-5 visa, and when did you apply?
I wanted to migrate to the U.S. for myself and for a better future for my daughter, so I applied in March 2017.
Why did you decide to invest directly instead of through a regional center?
I researched and looked at a couple of Regional Center projects, but back then, it was the “Wild West” in terms of protecting investors. After working in big corporations for over 30 years, I wanted to start my own company.
How long did it take to get your EB-5 approval?
My I-526 was approved in 18 months or so. It was a lot of hard work, especially because I started a new company from scratch to fulfill the creation of employment requirements. But it was also joyful as my business is successful today.
What was the most challenging aspect of your EB-5 visa journey, and how did you overcome it?
All the challenges of building a business in a completely new industry, new country, new ways of doing business, and very complicated labor law regulations in California. I overcame them by taking one step at a time, researching a lot, and talking to many people.
Looking back, what was the most rewarding part?
Starting my home care agency as a direct investment project and growing it to over 400 employees, nine locations in California, and over $5 million in annual revenue is the greatest part financially, as a startup, and the satisfaction of building a team of colleagues that are happily working together.
Can you describe the most challenging part of creating your own business?
There are many challenging parts: learning every bit of the business’s operation, trying to develop business revenues in a new industry in a new country, hiring the right managers, and even learning to do the bookkeeping and labor laws. Later, when the business grew, managing cash flows and trying to automate all processes to achieve consistency of quality and better efficiency were also challenging.
How did you stay motivated and focused during times of uncertainty or delays in the visa approval process?
The delays or uncertainty in my visa approval process didn’t cause much anxiety. The challenges of starting the business were more stressful.
What advice do you have for other EB-5 investors?
Research a lot, talk to at least 3-4 attorneys and compare notes, review at least 4-5 projects and visit the sites, and do reasonable due diligence on the project’s documentation. For example, I was very interested in a taxi company’s EB-5 project and wanted to invest in it. They claimed each investor’s money would be used to buy taxi vehicles and hire drivers, but when I asked them for some sample of vehicle titles, they couldn’t provide any, so I dropped it.