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Questions and Answers > EB-5 Requirements

What restrictions are there on living in one state and filing an 1-526 project located in another state?

I am currently residing in New York under an E2 visa and I am planning to file an I-526 in order to obtain a green card under the EB-5 direct investment. Are there any restrictions on filing an I-526 form in New York, but investing in a project located in California?

Answers

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    Julia Roussinova

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    That depends on whether it is a regional center based project, where the requirement involves minimal involvement, or a direct investment. There are no restrictions geographically; however, in a direct investment you are generally required to manage day-to-day decisions of the business.

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    Lei Jiang

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    No restrictions at all.

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    A Olusanjo Omoniyi

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There is no residential requirement in filing an I-526 form. You can live in one state and invest in an EB-5 project in another state.

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    Fredrick W Voigtmann

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There are no filing restrictions, but if the business plan calls for you to personally run the day to day operations of the business, then it would be logically impossible for you to do it if you were in another state. For example, if you are going to manage a restaurant, it would not make sense if you lived in a different state. If you are going to hire a restaurant manager and just review the financial statements and make policy decisions about the business, then you could do that from another state.

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    Kyle Barella

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There are no restrictions on which state you are living when you file.

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    Ed Beshara

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    You can live in a state that is different from the state where the EB-5 project is located. That is, the EB-5 project can be located in California and you can file the I-526 petition for the California project while you are living in New York.

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    Kripa Upadhyay

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There are no restrictions that would prevent you from filing with a project based in one state, but living in another.

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    Vaughan de Kirby

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    For a regional center investment there is no restriction.

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    Olga Karasik

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There are no restrictions at all.

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    Fariba Faiz

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    EB-5 cases are filed with the Texas lockbox and routed to California. If you are filing under the direct investment then you need to develop and direct the business and for that you need to be present where the business is located. Under the regional center program, you need to be involved in the business and can reside in a different state.

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    Jinhee Wilde

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There are no restrictions on filing an EB-5 case through a project located in one state while living in another. If the EB-5 case is based on direct investment of a business where you are supposed to operate or do the day-to-day management of the business, then you should live within close proximity of the business to be able to run it day-to-day operations. However, If the EB-5 case is based on a regional center project, then you do not have to live in the same area as the project at all.

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    Karen-Lee Pollak

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There are no restrictions. You can live anywhere if you are investing in a regional center.

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    BoBi Ahn

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    There are no such restrictions. You can invest in a project that is outside of your state of residence for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor processing. The investor must be engaged in the management of the enterprise; however, that requirement can be met either through day-to-day managerial control or through policy formulation.

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    Salvatore Picataggio

    Immigration Attorney
    Answered on

    That could be fine, but it is always advisable to retain immigration counsel to review your plans for compliance with the rules, regulations, and policies.