Questions & Answers

How can an investor apply for the EB-5 visa if they are not fluent in English?

We represent a Chinese client who is interested in investing to obtain an EB-5 visa. He is just getting started with the application process, but is not fluent in English. Will he need to hire a translator during the EB-5 process? What steps of the EB-5 application process require an investor to know English? Are there any documents that the EB-5 investor will need translated into English?

Answers

• Julia Roussinova

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 11, 2014

  There is no requirement for an EB-5 investor to know English. However, an interpreter/translator is necessary to communicate with an EB-5 client who is not fluent in English during the process of investing as well as preparation of I-526 petition. If the firm does not have its own specialist with the language capabilities, it is generally recommended that a client hires a qualified interpreter/translator to assist him to communicate with an investment project, his or her attorney, other professionals etc. All foreign documents submitted to USCIS are required to be translated into English.

• Denyse Sabagh

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 11, 2014

  They do not need to be fluent in English to apply for and receive an EB-5. However, if they want to understand the documents, they will need to be translated.

• James Wolf

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 11, 2014

  If the EB-5 investor will be a limited partner or equivalent in the company, very little English capacity is needed. If the EB-5 investor will be actively involved in running the company, then fluent English is important.

• Kevin Michael Reilly

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 10, 2014

  In order to receive EB-5 permanent residence, the petitioner is not required to speak English. However, the applicant should hire a translator to translate and certify all documents from Chinese into English, and to translate all conversations with the attorney and with embassy officials.

• Clem Turner

  Securities Attorney

  Answered on July 10, 2014

  Thanks for your question. Most EB-5 documents are translated into simple Chinese by the regional center or migration broker. The following documents should certainly be translated for your client to review: - Private Placement Memorandum - Limited Partnership or LLC Operating Agreement (for the EB-5-funded entity) - Subscription Agreement - Escrow Agreement - Loan Agreement (if applicable) - Investor Suitability Questionnaire - Economic Report - TEA Letter; and - perhaps other documents, depending on the transaction. However, your client should realize that most EB-5 issuers state that the English versions of these documents will control, if there was ever a discrepancy. Thus, the client should also allow you to review the English versions of the documents, to make sure you can warn him of any issues.

• Ying Lu

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 10, 2014

  EB-5 investors are not required to be English speakers. All the supporting documents that are not in English need to be submitted with certified translation to USCIS. Please consult with an experienced EB-5 attorney regarding the preparation of a successful EB-5 case.

• Salvatore Picataggio

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 10, 2014

  All documentation provided to USCIS must be translated into English, so yes, a translator is needed. Even at the consulate interview, fluency in English is not required. The only time English language abilities are required is when applying for U.S. citizenship.

• A Olusanjo Omoniyi

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 10, 2014

  An investor does not need to know English to file an EB-5 application. However, every document filed with an application must be in English and any document that is not in English must be translated for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to be able to accept and consider such document. Consult an EB-5 attorney when organizing these documents and filing materials to ensure they are properly put together.

• Kyle Barella

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 10, 2014

  The nice aspect of the EB-5 visa is that it requires no English language ability to apply. However, all documents/evidence not in English submitted to USCIS needs to be accompanied by an English translation.

• Jinhee Wilde

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 10, 2014

  We represent many Chinese clients who are not fluent in English. There is no English fluency requirement in doing an EB-5 case, particularly if the investor is investing in a regional center project where he is only a limited partner who is not required to run the day-to-day operations of the business/project. Translation service will be required to translate all the necessary documents from Chinese to English in order to file the I-526 petition and then again for DS-260 visa applications for the investor and his family.

• Dale Schwartz

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 10, 2014

  There is no requirement that a person speak English to apply for EB-5. If they will own/work in their own business, a consular officer may question how they will do this if they do not speak English, so they should be prepared to explain this.

• Stephen Berman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 10, 2014

  There is no requirement to be fluent in English to file any immigrant visa petition, including the EB-5.