Questions and Answers > EB-5 Requirements

Will I have to manage my EB-5 project from inside the United States?

Will I have to manage my EB-5 project from inside the United States? After receiving conditional permanent residency can I assign project management to someone else? Will I have to stay in the United States or will I be able to leave to go back to my home country?

Answers

• Bernard P Wolfsdorf

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on November 3, 2013

  Some degree of management is required-after conditional permanent residence is acquired, extended absences can be approved if a reentry permit is requested, and approved.

• Steven Anapoell

  Securities Attorney

  Answered on February 27, 2013

  You do not manage the project. You are a passive investor in these deals. However, you will be required to live in the US for at least 180 days per year during the 2 year period of residing in the US with your temporary visa

• Julia Roussinova

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 27, 2013

  The answer depends on whether you are an EB-5 investor through a Regional Center approved by USCIS or you are an EB-5 investor in a direct EB-5 case in a commercial enterprise outside a Regional Center setting. Many Regional Center projects are limited partnerships where an investor is a limited partner not engaged in day-to-day operational control of the partnership. In such cases, General Partner is responsible for daily operations. If you are a shareholder, partner, or member in a commercial enterprise outside a Regional Center setting, it is necessary to see the entity business documentation to determine what position you hold and what your responsibilities are in order to advise you. Additionally, if you are outside the US for more than 1 year at a time, you may trigger abandonment of your lawful permanent residency in the US and lose your green card. If you plan to travel outside the US for a longer period of time, you should have a reentry permit. Please consult a licensed immigration attorney before you travel to review your specific situation and advise you. Should you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

• BoBi Ahn

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  You may be able to manage the project from abroad but you should be aware of the ''residence'' requirements for being granted conditional permanent residence before spending extensive time outside the U.S. Being outside the U.S. for extended periods (ie., >1 year) can trigger a ''presumption of abandonment'' of permanent residence, and any continuous period of absence from U.S. >6 months and less than a year, will result in a rebuttable presumption of abandonment of permanent residence. Both findings can result in loss of your Lawful Permanent Resident status. These are issues that you should be aware of if you plan to be a passive investor and more so if you don?t intend to spend time in the U.S. developing the business.

• Fredrick W Voigtmann

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  An EB-5 green card is just like any other green card; it requires the intention to permanently reside in the United States. Depending upon which EB-5 project you invested in, you may be able to have a limited role in management and policy. Many regional centers are structured as limited partnerships, so it might be possible to spend a minimal amount of time in the United States and still fulfill your responsibilities under the limited partnership agreement your signed. DHS will look for signs of your intent. Where is your job, your property/residence, your family, etc.? How much time do you spend outside of the United States? If you are absent from the United States for more than six months during any visit, be prepared to answer questions at the airport about your immigrant intent and about whether you really need/want the green card. Of course, if you have trips outside of the United States for less than six months, you probably will be fine, unless they start to add up and it appears that you are not living in the U.S., but just using the green card as a substitute for a nonimmigrant visa. If you need to tie up loose ends in your home country (i.e., sell property, wind up a business, etc.) you can apply for a reentry permit, which will allow a green card holder to stay outside of the United States for up to two years, without having his or her intentions or motivations questioned.

• Rakesh Mehrotra

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  The requirement is that the investor must be engaged in the exercise of day to day managerial control or in the exercise of policy formulation. You cannot maintain a purely passive role in the investment. Thus, although there is no requirement that you must be in the US I would suggest that you should remain in the US majority of the time. However, you are free to travel to your country. You cannot assign managerial control to someone else.

• Ed Beshara

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  The percentage of management involvement will depend on whether it is a direct EB-5 or EB-5 Regional Center EB-5 project. Once conditional permanent residency is obtained you are required to spend the majority of your time in the U.S. That is, your home is in the U.S. and when you leaving for a foreign country you are only visiting.

• Clem Turner

  Securities Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  I think you are confusing EB-5 with the E2 ''entrepreneurial'' Visa. Under EB-5 your investment is passive, though you can have an advisory role in the company. However, under EB-5, it is expected that the management of the company that you invest in will have responsibility for the day to day operations of the project.

• Lei Jiang

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  Do you plan to invest in an EB-5 regional center or an independent enterprise? If it is in EB-5 regional center, you don''t need to worry about management. If it is in an independent enterprise, you still can delegate day to day tasks to other people, but you need corporate documents to show your involvement in the management. You will have to stay in the U.S. for at least 6 month a year. Please feel free to contact us for your EB-5 questions.

• Boyd Campbell

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  It is your job to show that you have been a hands-on manager of your enterprise for two years during conditional resident status. You should consult a qualified EB-5 immigration lawyer to find out how to do that.

• Karen Weinstock

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  You will be able to leave but you will have to be careful not to stay too long as to abandon your residency.

• Ying Lu

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  It depends on if you will participate into a regional center project or a direct EB-5 project. Regional center project does not need you to participate day-to-day management. You can be a limited partner and participate into policy making of the business. But for direct EB-5, the investor should take more responsibilities in managing the business. You can hire a professional manager to manage the business, but you cannot be a passive investor. For inexperienced investors or investors who do not want to spend too much time on the new business, regional center will be a better choice.

• Margo Chernysheva

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  The answer depends if you are doing traditional individual EB5 investment or if you are investing in a Service Center project and are a minority shareholder. If you are in the first category - the answer is more complicated and you can always hire people to assist you but you need to manage them. If you invested in Service Center, you do not need to manage that business or even hire someone to do so - it is being managed for you and that''s why you paid administrative fees to the Service Center. You should hire an immigration attorney to represent you.

• Anthony Korda

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  The EB-5 Regulations require that the investor in an EB-5 Project must be involved in the management of the company as follows: To show that the petitioner is or will be engaged in the management of the new commercial enterprise, either through the exercise of day-to-day managerial control or through policy formulation, as opposed to maintaining a purely passive role in regard to the investment, the petition must be accompanied by: (i) A statement of the position title that the petitioner has or will have in the new enterprise and a complete description of the position''s duties; (ii) Evidence that the petitioner is a corporate officer or a member of the corporate board of directors; or (iii) If the new enterprise is a partnership, either limited or general, evidence that the petitioner is engaged in either direct management or policy making activities. For purposes of this section, if the petitioner is a limited partner and the limited partnership agreement provides the petitioner with certain rights, powers, and duties normally granted to limited partners under the Uniform Limited Partnership Act, the petitioner will be considered sufficiently engaged in the management of the new commercial enterprise.

• Susan Pilcher

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  It is not necessary to remain inside the United States, but permanent residence does require actual U.S. residence, and one cannot be a purely passive investor in an EB-5 project. You should discuss your concerns with a knowledgeable EB-5 immigration attorney to receive advice that is specific to your particular circumstances.

• Reza Rahbaran

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  Subject to fulfilling the residency requirements of being a green card holder, you are free to travel to and from the United States. As long as you maintain a position with your business that fulfills the EB-5 regulations you are free to hire whom you wish to be the project manager. For further information please contact Rahbaran & Associates.

• Stephen Berman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  You are expected to remain in the U.S. and manage the business. That''s why you are asking for permanent resident status, to be here, to take care of the investment.

• Taher Kameli

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  Usually, the law requires you to be actively involve. However, in some circumstances you may hire a manager.

• Jinhee Wilde

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  If you invest in Regional Center, you do not have to manage the project at all and you may be able to apply for a reentry permit if you need to go back to your home country for business without giving up your green card. However, if you wish to receive the conditional green card based on a personal business you will own and operate, you may need to rethink how you establish the business so that you only retain ''policy making role'' instead of actual operational control. Please discuss the nuance of the different business models for EB-5 with your immigration lawyer in cooperation with your business lawyer.

• Neville M Leslie

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on February 26, 2013

  No, you don''t have to.