I am about to renounce my Indian citizenship and become an economic citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis. I am also about to file my application for the EB-5 visa so I can move to United States. Will I have to wait three to five years after I have become a citizen of a new nation or can I apply right away? What are the EB-5 requirements for someone who just renounced their current citizenship and became a citizen of a new nation?
Any foreign national can file an EB-5 petition and obtain conditional permanent residency. Under your circumstances there is a possibility for you to be able to travel with a re-entry permit if you do not have a passport of another country. You will travel also with your original conditional permanent residency card. Once you have had residency for five years, then you can file your application for citizenship.
You should be able to apply for the EB-5 visa now. It is advisable that you determine with the local counsel what economic passport means; does it give you full protections of a citizenship?
If you are a citizen of St. Kitts you file as such. I am not sure what the term "economic" citizen refers to.
There are no prohibitions on you applying for an EB-5 visa - your renunciation and adoption of St. Kitts has no impact on your application.
That should not affect your eligibility for EB-5. There is a question about nationality and we can explain your plans. At the time you obtain an immigrant visa (at least a year after filing) you will need a passport for the immigrant visa. Are you sure you need to renounce your Indian citizenship before obtaining the new citizenship?
Based on your facts I cannot see why you should not be able to apply for the EB-5 now. The requirements for the visa are the same.
Your country of citizenship is not relevant to the EB-5 process. You can apply for EB-5 before, during, or after the St. Kitts citizenship gets approved. You can apply for EB-5 now.
You can apply for EB-5 right away; there is no reason why you would have to wait. You must meet all of the EB-5 legal and regulatory requirements, including documenting that the invested capital was lawfully obtained.
The U.S. looks at the country of citizenship. It does not ask for how long have you been a citizen of that country.
Renouncing citizenship should not cause any delay in the EB-5 immigration process. Once the I-526 is approved, you will be required to attend a U.S. Consulate interview, likely at the U.S. Consulate in Barbados. At that time you will need to explain your citizenship status. It will be imperative to carry your birth certificate and current passport. Please note, while India is unlikely to reach the EB-5 visa quota in the next few years, renouncing your citizenship does not change your birth country for visa quota purposes.
For EB-5 purposes, it does not matter which country you are a citizen of. You can file right now.
There are no special requirements for someone who becomes a citizen of a different country. Regarding visas, it is your country of birth that determines chargeability, not your country of citizenship.
Yes, you can apply for an EB-5 visa without a "waiting period." Please contact an EB-5 attorney for additional information.
You can file the I-526 petition with USCIS at any time. When that is approved (and current processing time is 13 months), you should then be able to apply through the U.S. consulate in St. Kitts with the required information and documentation.
