I am a Canadian Citizen and have been in the United States on an L1-A from 2011 to July 2014. I applied for a green card through L-1 status and was denied due to the size of my U.S. company. My L1-A renewal was also denied because my company was not big enough and my E-2 was denied under section 214(b). I have invested more than $1.2 million in properties and a recycling business and I currently employ three people. In two years I can probably increase that to five employees and I am thinking of buying an additional business to get another five employees. Will my previous L1-A and E-2 denials prevent me from receiving an EB-5 visa?
These E-2 and L denials should not have an impact on you when you apply for an EB-5 visa. The only exception would be if an examiner found fraud or misrepresentation and that was part of the basis for the decision.
No. As long as your EB-5 I-526 application meets the requirement, previous denial of L1-A and E-2 should not affect your I-526 approval, since you mentioned that previous denials were not based on any fraudulent presentations.
No, if you can comply with the requirements of the EB-5 program, the application will be based on the merits, not past applications.
The denials of the E-2 and L-1 visas based upon business related requirements should not affect the EB-5 process. However, if the E-2 or L-1 denial was based upon fraudulent entry of the investor, then this could be a ground for the denial of conditional permanent residency.
You are in a tough spot. Without fully reviewing the previous denials, it is difficult to assess the likelihood of converting your current business model into one that is EB-5 compatible. In particular, the E-2 denial is hard to understand, because its standard is relatively the lowest among the three. In theory, any business can be modeled into EB-5. But when it comes to acquiring an existing business, you first need to review whether it qualifies as a troubled business. If not, you cannot simply add the existing positions into the job creation count. Be prepared to create extra jobs. Last but not the least, while the I-526 is pending, you will not be allowed to remain in the United States to work without a valid work visa. It seems at this moment, your priority should be to resolve the E-2 treaty investor visa denial.
If the I-526 is approved (which should be reviewed independently of your other processes), you will be asked about prior immigration history to obtain your conditional permanent residency. Consult with an immigration attorney with experience in EB-5 to review your entire immigration history and possible future processes.
The previous denials should not have any effect on your EB-5 eligibility. The L-1A denial due to the size of your U.S. company (most likely due to the fact that you could not establish that you primarily would be engaging in managerial or executive duties) has nothing to do with EB-5. Also, the reason for your E-2 denial, INA Section 214(b), is due to the fact that you could not establish your non-immigrant intent. Since EB-5 is an immigrant category, 214(b) does not apply.
Your L-1 denials should not impact your visa. Your E-2 denial also will not impact your application as it was denied as you were assumed to have immigrant intent. In an EB-5, application you are automatically assumed to have immigrant intent.
Ultimately L-1 and E-2 are non-immigrant visas and denial for those should not have any impact on the EB-5 immigrant visa application unless there is some findings of fraud or misrepresentation associated with those previous denials. However, EB-5 application approval centers around job creation that your investment has been able to achieve in the business in which you have invested. While investing $1.2 million into that business appears to have met the capital investment amount of EB-5, you will need to be realistic in your projection and preparing the business plan to show how you could create more than triple the number of jobs you have created thus far in three years of business before submitting the I-526 petition for the EB-5 case. Perhaps you may wish to separate the EB-5 case from your own business by choosing a regional center with an excellent track record so that your immigration benefit is better assured and not tied to the success of your business within the USCIS required time frame.
The denial should not impact your eligibility per se, provided there were no misrepresentations on either applications. If you meet the qualifications you should not have any issues.
The previous denials should not interfere with your approval under EB-5.
They may not prevent you from getting an EB-5 visa. To better understand I would recommend that you consult with an experienced immigration attorney.
If the denials have anything to do with the amount invested or the number of jobs created, it could be a problem. And if not, then they should not be relevant.
