How can I make sure that my invested EB-5 capital is safe while I wait for visa approval?

Generally, the terms of your investment agreement should have spelt out how you could address this situation. All regional centers are required to manage the deposited money according to the terms of their agreements. In most cases, the money is usually deposited in an escrow account and it cannot be put into use or spent until the I-526 petition is approved. Unfortunately though, fraudulent intent is difficult to prevent if the operator of a regional center chooses to engage in such activity. It is also equally hard for the investor to guard against such occurrence, even if the terms of the agreement specifically state it should not be done. Knowing as much as you can about a regional center through due diligence may help in guarding against some of the fraudulent intents out there but total prevention is virtually impossible to guarantee. The industry though is populated by a lot of honest people and operators with good intentions and very good records who will abide with the terms of their agreements.

Good questions; hopefully, you did your due diligence before investing. If you have questions about the Regional Center, you can contact the SEC to investigate. You are an investor and can rightfully ask the project to give you updates on any issues like this you are questioning.

When the NCE can use the funds of investors depends on the terms of the agreements. For example, some agreements stipulate that the General Partner can deploy the investment capital of an investor without waiting for an I-526 approval. You need to read the agreement.

You are going to have to review the terms of the project/investment in the PPM, subscription agreement, etc. Many projects will begin to use the money upon filing the immigration petition, as waiting 2-3 years to use the funds is just not possible. The documentation should explain the risk and any protections available, but no matter what the investment must be at-risk, no guarantees of repayment. If you really want to track your money, a Direct (non-regional center) investment gives you ultimate control.

You need to study the documents and do due diligence on the regional center to ensure they have a good track record. Review the terms of the escrow account to see who has control. However, generally, the USCIS wants to see the money deployed into job creating activities and not left to sit in an escrow account.

If it is an escrow account, they cannot access the funds except under the terms of the written escrow agreement. The trustee or bank holding the escrow account likely would not be involved in any fraudulent intent.