How can I transition from the TN visa to the EB-5 visa?

It may be best to go through the U.S. consulate instead of adjusting. Please consult with an immigration attorney.

It is possible to transition from TN to EB-5. However, unless you invest in a troubled business, your investment must create at least 10 full-time jobs. If a business is not in a TEA or rural area, then currently the direct EB-5 investment amount is $1 million, which will likely increase to $1.2 million among other changes under the proposed legislation if enacted.

If you have the requisite documents prepared for an EB-5 investment you may submit them before or after the purchase. If it is a direct investment make sure you can verify at least 10 new jobs. Also make sure you can verify that your funds are from lawful sources.

You can transition from TN to an EB-5 visa. However, taking over a business such as a $600,000 clinic will not necessarily fulfill the EB-5 requirements. There are a few more steps you will have to take. For instance, you have to: 1) Put a minimum of $500,000 into the business and 2) within two years of approval of your 1-526, you must create 10 jobs before your permanent green card can be approved. Advisably, talk to an EB-5 attorney before proceeding further.

If you buy a business while on a TN this will not necessarily create an EB-5 option. Since you are on an employer-specific visa, you will need a visa to work for this new business. I would recommend you hire a competent lawyer and apply for an E-2 visa as a Canadian investor. Purchasing an existing business does not automatically qualify you for an EB-5 green card. Unless this is a troubled business where you are saving jobs, the 40 percent rule applies. This requires you to increase the number of employees by 40 percent, but the rule is unclear as to whether you have to add at least 10 new employees. Best to set-up a new business as you can show new jobs, or invest in a regional center project.

First and foremost, you can do that once your EB-5 I-526 petition is approved. If you are in valid TN status and a visa number is available, which it should be, you would simply file your I-526 approval notice along with your application for adjustment of status. Your investment in the veterinary clinic may or may not qualify as a direct investment. You would have to show that as a result of the investment you have created 10 jobs over a 2+ year period and that the same constitutes a new enterprise as that is defined. You should obviously consult, preferably with an attorney board-certified in immigration and nationality law with substantial experience in representing EB-5 investors.

TN status is a nonimmigrant status which allows you to work in the United States for the petitioner/employer. Only after the EB-5 immigrant petition for investors (I-526) is approved, can you file for adjustment of status (green card) and the accompanying "work permit/advance parole." Until you can file for the adjustment/work permit/advance parole, you should maintain the TN status, unless you do not want/need to be in the United States for the final processing.

You can transition. The TN visa is temporary. That means you intend to return to your national country. With a TN you cannot both intend to return to your country and intend also to stay in the United States. You can file your I-526 petition and when it is approved, you can file to adjust your status, but once you file to adjust your status, you changed your intent. Your intent is no longer to return to your national country. You would no longer be eligible to enter on TN. You must irrevocably commit the funds subject only if your I-526 petition were denied. Two years after you adjust status to that of a conditional U.S. permanent resident, you will need to show that your investment has been fully invested in the enterprise and has generated 10 full-time jobs.

Yes, a person in valid TN status can file for adjustment of status as an EB-5.