Questions & Answers

What happens if the investment loan matures before the I-829 adjudication?

I heard that 30 months is the current approximate time it takes for USCIS to adjudicate an I-829. What if the investment loan period of five years matures before my I-829 adjudication? It seems not only Chinese investors, but also investors from other countries, might face the issue of redeployment based on the long process of adjudication.

Answers

• Julia Roussinova

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on August 8, 2018

  You will need to review the terms of private placement memorandum and limited partnership agreement or LLC agreement along with the terms of the loan agreement as applicable to determine the exit strategy and when EB-5 capital may be returned. Investment must be sustained and at-risk throughout the conditional residency period. Redeployment may or may not be an issue. Those questions should be addressed with your immigration attorney and regional center.

• Salvatore Picataggio

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 30, 2018

  Redeployment may be an option (despite USCIS failing to tell us how that would actually work). There is s another school of thought that once the I-829 is filed, you already have sustained the investment throughout the conditional residency period, so perhaps it would be OK to exit after the I-829 is filed.

• Charles Foster

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 30, 2018

  If you have already filed your I-829 petition to remove conditions, which is approvable as of the date filed, and subsequently your investment loan matures, it may not be necessary to redeploy your capital at that stage.

• A Olusanjo Omoniyi

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 30, 2018

  If all the requirements related to the project have been met, distribution may be undertaken. However, in a circumstance where a request for evidence could surface, a better response is to adopt a standstill approach, meaning that parties should choose to redeploy and leave the investment in place until the I-829 is approved.

• Bernard P Wolfsdorf

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 30, 2018

  Some form of redeployment is required. Unfortunately, USCIS has not been 100 percent clear on the scope of redeployment, but some additional activity is required.

• Stephen Berman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 26, 2018

  One cannot invest money from a loan, so this is not an issue.

• Lynne Feldman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 26, 2018

  If I understand the question, then the I-829 should not be an issue, provided the money was invested and the 10 jobs created and sustained.

• Mitch Wexler

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 26, 2018

  If the loan matures while your I-829 is pending, and the funds are returned to the new commercial enterprise (NCE), the entity you invested the funds into can be returned to you. The period the investment must be "sustained," aka the "sustainment period," is the two-year conditional green card period. If your I-829 is pending, you are most likely beyond the sustainment period so you can be repaid. There would be no redeployment obligation. There would be a redeployment obligation if the loan was repaid to the NCE and your sustainment period had not run.

• Vaughan de Kirby

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 26, 2018

  Check with your investment immigration attorney. I believe you will find after 24 months you can receive a distribution of your capital invested.

• Belma Chinchoy

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 26, 2018

  Redeployment.

• Kyle Barella

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 26, 2018

  What is most important is whether the EB-5 requirements were met during the 24-month period following obtaining your green card. I would advise you speak with a qualified EB-5 attorney for further clarification and details.