What are the mandatory documents for obtaining an EB-5 visa?

Documentation will vary from application to application. Only after working closely with the applicant can we determine what would be best for his or her case.

Depending on whether it is a direct investment or regional center investment, your documentation will vary with the specifics of your case. You should consult an immigration attorney to discuss the details of your case.

You should consult an EB-5 attorney on your plan if you intend to file a petition. Start discussing the EB-5 landscape, then choose your preferred route for the two methods for filing petitions (either direct investment or regional center), evaluate the differences and then the checklist of documents can be put together. Even then, changes to the checklist will have to be made as you proceed with your petition as time and circumstances required.

For the initial types of the documents required, take a look at Form I-526 instructions. The list of documents is determined on a case-by-case basis because the lawful source of funds is different for each EB-5 investor. If you invest through a regional center, you will need to prove lawful source of funds and provide the project's business documents, economic impact report, and comprehensive business plan. For direct investment, you will also need to show either that you have already created the requisite jobs or demonstrate job creation through a comprehensive business plan.

The answer depends upon whether or not you are making an EB-5 investment through a regional center which, for the vast majority, is what is done or whether it is a direct EB-5 investment. If you are making an investment through a regional center, the regional center will have a packet of documents establishing that it is a qualified EB-5 investment in terms of its location and job creation and otherwise. For your part, you have to submit sufficient documentation regarding your source of funds.

Have you reviewed the USCIS website regarding the EB-5 visa? https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume6-PartG.html Read through it and it may answer some of your questions. Much of the needed documents are specific to the particular project you are investing in.

Since the kind of documents needed is based on how you obtained and gathered your investment funds, you will need to work with an experienced EB-5 lawyer to prepare the I-526 petition. That petition must include both the business-side documents and your source of fund documents, which are necessary.

For the first step you need to prove the lawful source of funds - the documents for that can be very exhaustive - have a look at the Form I-526, that has useful information to get started. Then you need documents regarding the project - if it is a regional center, they are exhaustive; if not, it can be simpler but you still need to prove the job creation, whether by showing actual jobs, or via the business plan and economic report.