Should I invest in a company before they are an accredited regional center?

If they are not a designated Regional Center, only direct jobs will be counted to qualify you for EB-5 visa. You should really do your due diligence before you invest. I recommend that you hire a financial advisor to review their documentation and consult an immigration attorney.

You should not make any investment until you speak with an EB-5 expert that can analyze the project and inform you of all the risks involved. Also note that at this stage you would only be able to count direct jobs.

An investor may not file an I-526 based on indirect job creation prior to the approval of the regional center. The investor must submit the most recent regional center approval letter along with evidence of the center''s capital investment structure and job creation methodology.

I would say unless there is a big hurry on your end to make the commitment and investment, it is advisable to wait until the Regional Center designation is obtained for several reasons. One of them would be if you are specifically making the investment in a Regional Center in order to take advantage of the indirect hire crediting for the 10 full time hire requirement, then you need to make sure that the project gets the RC designation. Also, by waiting for the accreditation you are letting the USCIS conduct a vetting process of the business on your behalf to see if there is a problem with either the business or the Regional Center structure.

Why would you invest now, before they obtain their regional center designation? This is extremely risky. Are they relying on indirect job creation? If so, then your I-526 petition cannot be filed until they receive the designation.

You should not invest in a project that will count on job creation associated by being accepted into a RC that isn''t yet accepted.

You may have to make a business decision to invest in what you consider a financially promising business regardless of whether you obtain conditional permanent residency. The other determination you need to make is how long you can wait to obtain conditional permanent residency. That is, if the regional center application is denied after several months if not more, this time is lost and has substantially delayed you obtaining your permanent residency.

The proposition is certainly risky as there is always a chance that the RC application may be denied. As such, I would be very cautious in investing in an unapproved RC.

An investor invests in business projects through regional centers, not into regional centers. If this company is not an USCIS approved regional centers, I don''t know how you can apply for I-526 and I-829 petitions by EB-5 Pilot Program. The investment you are looking at sounds like a regular business investment and is not qualified to allow you to apply for immigration benefits. It is wise to wait and investigate further. Do not invest anything until you have done all your due diligence investigation.

If they have hired a good EB-5 team, the likelihood of their rejection as a Regional Center is much lower, but approval/rejection depends on particular circumstances. Even if they are approved as a Regional Center, the project you''re invested in has to be approved as well. Until your I-526 is processed and approved, you have no assurance that there will be approval, so any investment that is not held in escrow could be riskier. Regarding what happens to your money if you went forward and were rejected, you have to discuss that with the company and see what the terms are. There should be paper documentation outlining this event.

No. Why take unnecessary risk?

You need a good business attorney to review the underlying documents to see what your protection would be if the Regional Center is not designated. Do they have the paperwork now for you to file the I-526; if not, why give them the money now? There is no benefit to you.

You may. But do not execute (sign) a subscription agreement or limited partnership agreement or file an I-526 petition unless and until the company is designated as a regional center by USCIS.

EB-5 investment does not have to be with a Regional Center.

If you invest before the project is under a Regional Center designation then the standard for you will be different, most significantly you will have to show direct employment creation. There are many factors when deciding on which project or regional center to invest in for EB-5 purposes. Choosing between a direct investment and a regional center investment ads a different layer of review and due diligence that you should discuss with EB-5 immigration counsel and your business consultant.

There are two ways to do EB-5: through a regional center project or a direct EB-5 project. The project you make the investment in does not need to be a regional center if they operate as a direct EB-5 project. Direct EB-5 project relies on direct jobs, while the regional center project can count both the direct jobs and indirect jobs. It depends on the agreement between you and the project with respect to the return of investment if you fail to get your conditional/permanent green card.

It is not required that the investment be a designated Regional Center; although, such is preferred. Nevertheless, it is essential that any investment be carefully reviewed for economic risk as well as EB-5 qualification. I will be happy to assist.

If your purpose is the green card for you and your family, the answer is absolutely no. There are plenty of approved regional centers to invest in.

I recommend that you wait until they are approved as a Regional Center with that particular business plan that you are interested in. I recommend that all Potenial EB-5 Investors working with Regional Centers consult with an independent Immigration Attorney (not a regional center attorney) throughout the process to make sure they have a source for independent legal advice so that the right questions can be asked and to insure that the Regional Center can and will meet their obligations to you and the business plan.