Questions and Answers > EB-5 Investments

How will retirement affect EB-5 visa eligibility?

I am buying a property in Miami, Florida and I intend to live there with my family. I have had a tourist visa for 10 years, but would like to get the EB-5 permanent residence visa. We have children who are 15 and 12 years old. My wife and I will be retired. Can we somehow use this property to apply for the EB-5 visa? Will being retired have any affect on our EB-5 eligibility?

Answers

• Steffanie J Lewis

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on April 15, 2015

  Retirement, as such, will have no impact on your EB-5 eligibility provided you can show income to support yourselves after you immigrate to the United States. If the equity in your property is sufficient to borrow against, your Florida property can be the source of funds to invest in an EB-5 new enterprise. Simply owning the property will not satisfy eligibility. However, you can use the property as your source of fund so long as you can provide the lawful source of fund with which you purchase this property.

• J Bruce Weinman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 30, 2015

  Owning and operating a personal residence is expressly excluded from the definition of "commercial enterprise" in the regulations. Being retired does not preclude you from attaining permanent residence through the EB-5 program.

• Ed Beshara

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 24, 2015

  Your personal investment funds can be derived from the lawful ownership of your property. An investment in an EB-5 regional center project can be passive as far as your management role. To apply for an EB-5 project, you do not have to be currently working and you can be retired to apply.

• Lei Jiang

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 19, 2015

  Being retired will not affect your EB-5 application, but your plan of buying a property as the vehicle for an EB-5 application may not work. Remember you need to generate 10 jobs.

• Michael A Harris, Esq

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 18, 2015

  Using a property that you will reside in will generally not qualify. This is because simply buying real estate without commercial operations and job creation is considered a passive investment.

• Robert Lee

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 18, 2015

  You will not be able to use the residential property purchase for your EB-5 petition. Your retirement will have no bearing on your eligibility as long as you have a stable portfolio of assets.

• John J Downey

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 17, 2015

  Buying a home will not qualify under EB-5; retirement has no effect on an EB-5 investment.

• Sara Wang

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 17, 2015

  Your status as a retiree will not affect your EB-5 eligibility, as long as you can show that you have the means to support yourself and that your total asset complies with the securities requirement for you as an investor. You can use the U.S. property as a collateral and take out a loan to use as your EB-5 investment; this is your only way to "use" this property short of selling it. However, then you will have to demonstrate the source of your fund for the property purchase and the source of your future fund for repayment of the said loan. You may not simply use the fact that you have purchased a house here in the United States as a qualification for an EB-5 investment.

• Oliver Huiyue Qiu

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 17, 2015

  Not entirely sure about what you mean by retirement. If that means you will not actively be involved in managing the properties, you could run afoul of EB-5 rules that require active participation to a certain degree. If you plan to do that, careful planning of the corporate structure may be necessary to shield you from such violation. Buying real estate properties, be it residential or commercial, by itself does not qualify for the EB-5 program. This is because it lacks the feature of "at-risk."

• Dale Schwartz

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 17, 2015

  Retirement does not affect an EB-5 application. But you cannot use a personal residence as your investment. It has to be in a new commercial enterprise.

• Fredrick W Voigtmann

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 17, 2015

  No; EB-5 is an employment-creation immigrant visa category that requires an active, for-profit business and an at risk investment in a new commercial enterprise. Buying property does not qualify for EB-5 classification.

• Kyle Barella

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 17, 2015

  A residential property does not qualify for an EB-5 visa. However, you could certainly find an eligible passive investment to qualify and obtain permanent residency. Being retired will not have an impact on your investment eligibility. That is perfectly acceptable.

• Stephen Berman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 17, 2015

  The EB-5 program requires you to invest in a business that creates 10 new jobs. Owning property, by itself, does not meet that requirement.

• Enrique Gonzalez

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 17, 2015

  Question: Can we somehow use this property to apply for the EB-5 visa? Response: No. Question: Will being retired have any affect on our EB-5 eligibility? Response: No.

• Ian E Scott

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 17, 2015

  You must buy or invest in a business to get an EB-5 visa, so buying real estate does not qualify. Also, you must create 10 full-time jobs to get the visa. If you want to retire, you should consider a regional center where the investment is passive.

• Jinhee Wilde

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 17, 2015

  The fact that you are retired will not be an issue as long as you meet other EB-5 eligibility. However, just buying a property to live on is not an active EB-5 investment that will create 10+ jobs, which is what is required for an EB-5 case. Do not believe some immigration brokers/real estate agents abroad who may be telling you that if you buy a house for $1 million you will get a green card. This is simply not true. Also, the EB-5 process takes 11+ months just to get the I-526 approved before the next step can be taken, whether that is immigrant visa processing or the adjustment of status if you are in the United States under a valid status. Your B1/B2, while it is for 10 years, is only allowing you to stay for six months at a time, and when you enter you are affirming that you do not have an immigrant intent, which is belied by you wanting to do EB-5. If you really wish to pursue the EB-5 route and become a permanent resident, then I would suggest that you work with an experienced EB-5 attorney and take the proper steps to enter with an immigrant visa.

• Salvatore Picataggio

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 17, 2015

  Being retired will not be an issue, but the investment must be in a new commercial enterprise: a for-profit business entity that will create 10 jobs. If this Miami property is a commercial property that will require construction and operational jobs, then it may work, but a personal residence will not be eligible.