What happens once the main EB-5 investor submits his AOS?

In the event that an applicant is in the United States and wants to pursue an adjustment of status to permanent residence, they must undergo the medical exam in the United States with a doctor qualified to perform such an exam for immigration purposes. You should file the adjustment applications with all your family members together if they are in the United States.

As long as you have a current legal status in the United States, you may adjust in the United States. The dependents outside the United States will need to proceed with consular interviews.

Once you apply for adjustment of status after your EB-5 petition on Form I-526 has been approved and a visa number is available, you are eligible to apply for adjustment of status if you are in the United States in lawful status. Right now for Chinese nationals there is a backlog under the quota and they would have to wait until a visa number became available. Once you apply for adjustment of status, you will be scheduled to be fingerprinted at an Application Support Center and as part of your application you will have to provide the results of your medical examination showing that you do not have any contagious disease. You would want to include your dependent family members along with your application for adjustment of status. Your spouse and any minor children under the age of 21 would file separate applications. Within 90 days you can concurrently apply for work authorization and Advance Parole, a travel document. You would not be eligible to travel outside of the United States until you obtain your Advance Parole.

You cannot file an adjustment of status in the United States for people who are abroad. They will have to immigrant visa process, unless they can enter on a dual intent type visa such as an H-1B or L-1. You really need to have competent counsel advise you through this process as you may not be strategizing correctly and this could cause lengthy family separation. You may need to file an I-824 following-to-join petition for your spouse.

If you have your I-526 petition approved, have an immigrant visa immediately available and are currently in the United States in another lawful immigration status, then you may file your adjustment application for a conditional green card together with applications for employment authorization and a travel document (advance parole). The adjustment of status application must be accompanied by a sealed medical exam prepared by a civil surgeon designated by USCIS. Generally, employment-based cases do not require a USCIS interview at a local USCIS office. You do not undergo any interview or medical exam in your home country. Your dependents (spouse and unmarried children under age 21) may follow to join you as the principal EB-5 investor and immigrate to the United States once your adjustment of status is approved by USCIS. If you have not yet filed your AOS application, you may consider consular processing abroad, so that your dependents may consular process for immigrant visas at the same time as you, which will be a faster process for you to unite with your family in the United States (assuming immigrant visa numbers are available for your country of chargeability). I encourage you to consult an immigration attorney to discuss your options.

Your adjustment of status (AOS) application in the United States requires a U.S. medical exam report. There is no additional requirement for a medical check or interview in your home country. Only individuals who are physically present in the United States in valid nonimmigrant status may submit an AOS application (if they have an approved immigrant petition with a current priority date/immigrant visa number available). Dependent family members (spouse and children under 21) who are abroad may not file for AOS, but must instead apply for immigrant visa processing as "following-to-join" relatives once you received your permanent residence (upon AOS approval).

If you are lawfully in status in the United States when the I-526 is approved, and a visa number is available, you can apply to adjust, which does require a medical exam. An immigration attorney will assist you with the procedures and paperwork required for this process.

If you filed for AOS in the United States, you should have submitted a medical exam report with the application. No need to obtain additional medicals from your home country. If your derivative/dependent family members are choosing to apply from abroad, they may file to follow to join at the U.S. consulate abroad after your AOS is approved. The recommended course of action would be to have your dependent family enter the United States and file for the AOS with you to reduce the wait time to immigrant visa process abroad.

If your dependents are at home, you will need to complete your adjustment; be sure to file an I-824 so the dependents can follow. Once approved, the derivatives' cases can be processed when the I-824 reaches the National Visa Center. If you haven't adjusted yet and selected consular processing on the I-526, you may want to all process at the consulate together to get the dependents here faster and your permanent residence faster.