How could overstaying my visa impact my eligibility of applying for EB-5?

You need to avoid accruing 180 days of unlawful presence and depart the U.S. You can file for EB-5 from abroad and wait for adjudication, then consular process for an immigrant visa abroad. You need proof that you have not overstayed 180 days or more, such as approval notices for your L-1, departure ticket/itinerary, arrival stamp to your home country, etc.

Persons who have accumulated 180 days or more of unlawful presence (i.e., overstayed beyond authorized stay) and have then left the country are barred from receiving any immigration benefit for three years. Persons who have accumulated one year or more of unlawful presence and have then left the country are barred for 10 years.

This means you will not be able to adjust status but you should be able to immigrant visa process abroad at your home consulate. You may want to explain the overstay during your final interview.

The overstay may affect your chance in securing EB-5 approval. It is advisable to leave as soon as possible and at least before it is six months or more. The fact is, if you overstay for over 180 days (six months) and then depart the U.S., you will be barred for entering the U.S. for three years. With regards to your suggestion of overstaying for several years before departing the U.S., that will lead to an even longer penalty, as you will face disbarment for 10 years if you overstay for more than one year. Thus, do not consider overstaying for several years.

Your overstay of four months should not cause a problem for your EB-5 case.

Yes. Staying six months or more triggers a bar to re-entry of three years! You may be able to submit an I-526, but will not be able to move forward with a green card application. Leave the U.S. immediately.

Overstaying your L-1 visa for four months would not make a difference. If you had overstayed by six months, you could be subject to a three-year bar. You can still file the EB-5 investor petition on Form I-526 at any time and, once approved, you would apply for your immigrant visa based upon the approval at the appropriate American consulate abroad. You would have to fully disclose the length of time you stayed and not make any misrepresentation, but overstaying four months in and of itself should not interfere with your ability to qualify for an immigrant visa based upon an approved I-526 petition.

Overstays can impact one&#39s ability to obtain an EB-5 visa, depending on how long the overstay was for. Overstays less than six months should not have an impact. However, an overstay of six months to one year will lead to a three-year bar of entry into the United States. Overstays of more than one year will lead to a 10-year bar of entry. In any case, whether you overstay one day or one year, consult with an experienced EB-5 lawyer to address the issue in your immigrant visa application.

Biggest issue is unlawful presence and the 3/10 years inadmissibility bars. If you accumulated unlawful presence for any reason but it was less than 180 days, you may have fortunately dodged a bullet. I would advise you to seek a consultation immediately to ascertain your current immigration status because it may have serious impacts on all future immigration petitions, not just EB-5.

No, if you left before you spent more than 180 days out of status, you should not be barred from coming back under the EB-5 immigrant visa.

It should not matter at all, as long as you did not overstay six months or more. You can apply now.

Make sure you leave the U.S. before you accrue 180 days of overstay or unauthorized employment and you should be fine to apply for EB-5.