I am a Chinese EB-5 investor living in China. I am the primary applicant. I had visited the U.S. twice on B1/B2 visa before making my EB-5 investment. Now, while awaiting the approval of my I-526, may I still apply for a B1/B2 visa for short visits? I won”t use this visa to stay permanently.
Answers
Reza Rahbaran
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYou are able to apply for a B1/B2 visa. However, the filing of an I-526 petition shows an immigrant intent. It may be possible to obtain a B1/B2 visa approval if you effectively prove non-immigrant intent.
Bernard P Wolfsdorf
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyMost of these applications are being approved. Yes you can apply. Be sure to disclose the application.
Ed Beshara
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyAs you have not yet obtained approval of the I-526 petition and applied for conditional permanent residency you may still apply for a visitors visa. The visitor''s visa allows you to enter the U.S. for certain permissible activities.
Once the I-526 petition is approved then you will be starting the process of obtaining the conditional permanent residency, therefore it will now be difficult to apply for a visitors visa which is an expression of your intent to temporarily visit the U.S. and return to your home country, and not in the process of obtaining conditional permanent residency.
BoBi Ahn
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThere is no law or regulation preventing you from applying for a B1/B2 with a pending EB-5 immigrant petition. However, you will need to convince the consulate where you are applying for the visa that although you have a pending immigrant petition, your current and immediate purpose/intent of entry is for a visit/business and that you fully intend to return to China after this visit/business.
Fredrick W Voigtmann
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYes, you may apply for the B1/B2 visa. You must answer all of the questions on the visa application form truthfully and completely. That includes disclosing that you have filed an immigrant petition. You also must disclose the true purpose of your intended visit to the U.S. and as long as it is a valid non-immigrant purpose, you should be approved. In order for an applicant to receive a non-immigrant visa, the applicant must demonstrate non-immigrant intent (no immigrant intent). Filing an immigrant petition is one indicator of immigrant intent (or at least future immigrant intent).
Ying Lu
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYou should try to apply for the B1/B2 visa with the consulate. As most of our EB-5 clients are from China, we successfully helped our clients obtain their B visas while their I-526 petitions were pending. Remember to tell the truth during the interview and let the officer know that you do not have any immigrant intent for this visit. Good luck!
Lynne Feldman
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYes you will just need to convince the CBP Officer at the Port of Entry of your intent to return aboard.
A Olusanjo Omoniyi
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYes, you can. However, make your immigrant intent known while applying that the B1/B2 visa is for short duration to avoid any suspicion that you are trying to immigrate.
Gregory Romanovsky
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYes, you may apply, but the consulate is likely to deny it for lack of non-immigrant intent (since you have already exhibited your interest in immigrating to the U.S. by filing your I-526 petition). The key is to convince the consular officer that even though you intend to immigrate down the road, this particular trip is of temporary nature. Good luck!
Kripa Upadhyay
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYes you can. As long as you can show that you do plan to return to China & that you have businesses/ties in China that you will return to at the end of the B-1 period you can enter on a B-1 visa.
Salvatore Picataggio
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyNon-immigrant, or temporary, visas like the B1 and B2 have a requirement for binding ties to one''s home country. Having a permanent residency application like an I-526 would make it very difficult to show you intend to return to your home country at the end of your authorized period of stay.
Alexander Lebedinski
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYes, you can apply and should be able to obtain it for purposes of visiting the U.S. temporarily to oversee and direct your investment while your EB-5 petition is pending. Proof of investment, receipt of filing of Form I-526 and other evidence showing your current non-immigrant intent are required. If the investment was in regional center and your direction over the investment is not necessarily required, you would have a harder case to prove your non-immigrant intent.
Marc Yelnick
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYou may, but you will have to convince the consular officer (and the CBP office at the U.S. port of entry) that your ties to China are so strong that they will compel your return there after your temporary trip to the United States.
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