Stephen Berman
Immigration AttorneyTo get an immigrant visa, inside the U.S. through adjustment of status, one must be in legal, nonimmigrant status. Whether or not the passport is expired.
I am a citizen of two countries: Armenia and Dominican Republic. My Armenian passport has been expired for years and as the citizen of Dominican Republic I do not qualify for EB-5. My B2 visa is in my Dominican Republic passport. How can I still apply for EB-5?
To get an immigrant visa, inside the U.S. through adjustment of status, one must be in legal, nonimmigrant status. Whether or not the passport is expired.
EB-5 is not limited to any specific country, unlike the E-2 nonimmigrant treaty investor visa, which requires a treaty country nationality. Therefore, you could apply for EB-5 using your Dominican Republic passport. Or you could renew your Armenian passport, if eligible.
I do not see why you cannot apply for EB-5 based on being a Dominican citizen. You can also apply for EB-5 even though Armenian passport expired as long as you are in lawful status in the U.S. I would apply to renew if you can.
I do not think EB-5 has limitation on origins. You may have mistaken it for E-2.
You can apply for EB-5 from any country. Are you willing to invest $900,000 for EB-5? Or are you talking about E-2 for a smaller investment?
I have not heard of any nationalities being prohibited from the EB-5 program (You may be thinking about E-2.)
I think you may be referring to an E-2 treaty investor. The answer is to apply to renew your Armenian passport. The E-2 visa has to be applied for abroad unless you are seeking E-2 status which would have required you to enter on the Armenian passport.