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How long will it take to get an EB-5 if I have a B1/B2 visa?

At present I have a B1/B2 visa. I am in the U.S. I really feel good about making an investment in the U.S. If I apply for an EB5 visa, what will the timeframe be for my documents to clear the requirements?

Answers

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    Roberto Ortiz

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    At the present time, an application for an EB-5 is taking about 9 months to be processed. If you are here with a B1/B2 visa, you are usually only given 6 months and you will not be able to wait for the response on your EB-5 unless you try and extend your visa or change your visa to another nonimmigrant visa. If you would like to further discuss your case, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you.

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    Michael A Harris, Esq

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    I-526 petitions are taking up to a year or longer based on various reports. Some regional centers have reported far shorter time frames. While USCIS has processing time frames at the California Service Center, times can vary. But the major issue you present is entering the U.S. with the B-1/B-2 to later adjust status to permanent residence. You must have a temporary intent when you enter as a tourist. As well, it may be very difficult to continuously extend your stay as a tourist especially when USCIS will know that you have sought an EB-5 in their claims system.

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    Lei Jiang

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    To get I-526 approval, it normally takes at least 6 month. Please feel free to contact us for your EB5 questions.

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    BoBi Ahn

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The processing time of the I-526 Immigrant Petition (the first step to the ‘greencard’ processing through Investment). The current processing time for the I-526 Petition is approximately 6-12 months from filing. Once the Petition is approved, you may file for either an adjustment of status to permanent resident (if you are at that time already in the U.S. under the B-1/B-2 status. Note: If you are in the U.S. under B-1/B-2 status, you want to make sure there are no issues of ‘fraudulent intent’ at the time of entering in the B-1/B-2 nonimmigrant status (ie., no immigrant intent), so safe bet is to wait 90 days after entering under B-1/B-2 status to file for the adjustment of status), or Immigrant Visa Application through the U.S. Consulate abroad (if you are not in the U.S. at that time). As far as the processing time goes, processing for the adjustment of status varies from 12 - 18 months, and the Immigrant Visa processing at the U.S. Consulate varies from 6-12 months. Hope the answer helps.

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    Julia Roussinova

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Generally, B-1/B-2 status is granted for up to 6 months at the border. Visa validity period does not have anything to do with it. A request for extension for up to additional 6 months can be requested if you qualify. Currently, processing of I-526 petitions takes about 8-9 months and it does not give you any lawful immigration status in the US. If you file I-526 petition during your initial 6-month period in B-1/B-2 status in the US, you also express intent to immigrate to the US. For tourist visa, however, you must show that you do not intend to immigrate and will return to your home country after a temporary visit to the US. To that end, there''s a risk your B-1/B-2 extension may be denied while your I-526 petition is pending. I recommend that you contact us to discuss your specific situation in more detail.

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    Karen Weinstock

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    You will probably need to switch to another temporary visa in the interim because the processing times are about 1 year. Please contact an attorney to figure out what would suit you best.

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    Fredrick W Voigtmann

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Current I-526 processing time is about 10-11 months. While the petition is pending, you do not get any immigration benefits or any extension of your nonimmigrant status. Therefore, it is unlikely that you will be able to adjust status in the United States if you have entered the U.S. on a six-month B-1/B-2 status and then file your immigrant petition (Form I-526). The only alternative to adjustment of status in the United States is immigrant visa processing at a U.S. consulate or embassy in your home country. This could take another 4 to 6 months after your I-526 petition is approved.

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    Larry J Behar, Esq

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The EB 5 visa process normally takes about one year to complete. If you are already in the US, you may have to file for an extension or change of stay to ensure being able to complete an adjustment of status application once the EB 5 application is approved.

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    Rakesh Mehrotra

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Generally the EB 5 visa has three different stages. 1. I-526. This can take 6-8 months to adjudicate. 2. Once the I-526 petition is approved you may either consular process at the U.S. embassy if you are abroad or file an I-485 Adjustment of Status with USCIS, if you are in U.S. already. In your case, if you happened to be in the US on B1/B2 after your I-526 is approved you can adjust here in the US. However, it is unlikely that you will continue to be in US on B1/B2 as I-526 takes 6-8 months. 3 Once this stage is completed, you receive a 2 year conditional residence. Before the expiration of the 2 years, you must submit a request to remove conditions using Form I-829. This could take six months approximately.

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    Elizabeth Krukova

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    It is not your B1/B2 visa that determines the length of processing time of your EB-5 application. All applicants are more or less in the same query for processing. However, considering that your entry is only 6-months, you should be prepared to maintain your non-immigrant status beyond that time. You may consider extending or changing your status and that is something you should definitely be discussing with your attorney.

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    Margo Chernysheva

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Current processing time for I-526 is 12 months.

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    Ying Lu

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    For the I-526 petition, the average processing time is 8 months. After the I-526 is approved, if an investor is in lawful status in the U.S., he/she can apply for Adjustment of Status (I-485) to conditional Permanent Residence with USCIS. This process can take 6-12 months. If an investor is out of the U.S., he/she will apply for an Immigrant Visa at his/her home country Embassy or Consulate, which typically takes about 7-10 months or longer depending on the country. The I-829 filing period begins 90 days prior to the second anniversary of the grant of conditional resident status. Once the I-829 petition is filed, it can take 6-9 months for adjudication. The processing time varies case by case.

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    Ed Beshara

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The preparation of the I 526 petition,the process of the USCIS adjudicating the I526 petition,and the individual application for the conditional permanent residency status may take up to 12 months.However this is only an estimate of time delay and can be more or less.The possession of a B1/B2 visa has no bearing on obtaining an EB-5 visa.

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    Jinhee Wilde

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Currently, the processing time for I-526 is about 9 months at USCIS. Thus, if you already chose an investment vehicle/Regional center and have the funds ready for investment, then an efficient attorney should be able to get the I-526 package together for filing in about a month after you invest. Providing that you are at the beginning or mid part of your of B-1/B-2 (first 6 months) of stay, there is a chance for you to adjust for green card with one extension application of B-1/B-2 status. However, you will need to have a detailed consultation before we could determine how long the processing will be for your particular case.

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    Reza Rahbaran

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    At present EB-5 I-526 petitions are being processed between 6 and 8 months. If you are in the US with a valid visa when your petition is approved, you may apply for adjustment of status, otherwise you will need to apply for consular processing in your home country. For further information please contact Rahbaran PLLC.

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    Philip H Teplen

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The issue is the time frame to vet the investment and qualify the investor. Once that is done the process can be a matter of months. I would be happy to personally discuss it with you in specific.

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    Kenneth Byrd

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    The time frames vary according to how well the case is initially documented, but in our experience, we have obtained the conditional green card in as little as 8 months. The processing times can be found at www.uscis.gov, and depends on where you file your case. In California, they are working on cases filed on March 2012. Any case filed after that is waiting line. The date filed is its "Priority Date".

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    Stephen Berman

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Allow about 3 months.

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    Boyd Campbell

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    No one, not even anyone at USCIS knows. Some I-526 petitions are approved in a matter of weeks. Others languish inside the bureaucracy for years.

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    Daniel P Hanlon

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    Time frames vary depending on what type of investment you make and whether it is a direct investment or investment in a Regional Center project. I recommend that you not count on gaining approval within the usual 6-month period of a B-2 admission, however, as it could definitely take longer than that length of time. Please call us if you would like to schedule an appointment for a confidential consultation to discuss this matter further.

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    Clem Turner

    Securities Attorney
    Answered on

    According to USCIS, the processing time for an EB-5 visa is 4-6 months. This probably won''t be effected by the fact that you already have another visa. Good luck.

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    Shahzad Q Qadri

    RC Creator
    Answered on

    It can take anywhere from a few months to a year. It depends on the project and how back logged the USCIS is.

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    Steven Anapoell

    Securities Attorney
    Answered on

    They are completely independent processes that do not impact on another.

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    Neville M Leslie

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    6-12 months.