What are the various steps of the EB-5 process?

The first step is to prepare the I-526 petition, which includes the lawful source of the personal investment funds and the EB-5 compliant documentation. At this stage, the EB-5 investor has to choose an EB-5 regional center project or decide on their own direct project. The second step is to prepare the individual applications for the conditional permanent residency for the investor, and spouse and minor children if applicable. A few months before the two years of conditional permanent residency will be step three, which is when the investor will file an I-829 petition to remove the conditions and obtain unconditional permanent residency for the investor, spouse and children.

Summarily, the EB-5 visa is essentially an employment-based/business immigration visa. The steps start from your decision to invest in the United States and answering several questions that will show that the EB-5 investment is suitable for you. Among several questions and issues you need to address are how much investment can you afford, what is the source(s) of your fund, where do you want to invest, and how much investment is required, just to name a few. For a comprehensive analysis and issues associated with the EB-5 visa, consult an EB-5 attorney.

Scheduling a consultation with an immigration attorney can get you a lot of useful information! There are also useful resources (like this website!) that can help with the basics of the program.

The steps can be very simple, but complex to execute: 1. Choose and invest in an EB-5 eligible enterprise; 2. File immigration Form I-526; 3. When Form I-526 is approved, the visa will be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC); 4. File with the NVC and, when completed, the NVC will send your file and visa to the U.S. embassy in your country and arrange an interview date; 5. You will be advised of the interview date and documents you must take to it; 6. Assuming you pass the interview, you will have an immigrant visa affixed to your passport. 7. You enter the United States; 8. After two years, you must file the I-751 to remove the conditions from your U.S. permanent resident status, primarily showing the 10 full-time positions your investment created; 9. Assuming you are successful in removing the conditions, you file for U.S. citizenship if you so desire. Yours is a substantial investment. Unfortunately, all investments have not fulfilled the requirement to create 10 full-time positions or have been lost through mismanagement, etc. In short, you need to perform substantial due diligence and monitor followup activity of the enterprise in which you would have invested. EB-5 investments must include risk, but take only the risk you intend to assume.

First, I would locate an attorney well-versed in EB-5, You may go to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) for a list of competent practitioners in different areas of the country. Once you have selected a project, then you need to perform "due diligence" to ascertain the viability of the project as well as the backgrounds of the developers. Your attorney will then advise you as to the paperwork needed to be completed and negotiate terms with either/or the developer or regional center as the case may be. The terms will decide when your money will be released to the project and what happens in the event the project fails, etc.

Your question could require someone to write a book, but since you want to apply for an EB-5 investor visa in order to immigrate to the United States, you should first make sure you cannot immigrate through family, i.e. an immediate relative who is a U.S. citizen or eligible to become a U.S. citizen or by being sponsored for employment by a company in the United States. Qualifying under the EB-5 Investor program is a relatively highly predictable way, although it could take two years and if you are from China, it could take longer given the backlog under the quota. You start with making an investment decision. You can go online and check various EB-5 investment opportunities offered by a variety of EB-5 regional centers. Alternatively, you could hire an experienced lawyer who can give you guidance in this area, as well as hiring an investment advisor. Once you have made your investment decision, normally your lawyer would be able to help you prepare and file the petition, and once the petition is approved and visa numbers are available, you can file for your immigrant visa and immigrate to the United States. As I said, that could take at least two years or longer, particularly if you are a national of China.

Investment amounts will depend on whether you are looking to invest through a project in an USCIS-approved regional center in the United States with a lower investment amount (currently $500,000) or directly into a commercial business enterprise with a higher investment amount (generally $1 million unless in a Targeted Employment Area or troubled business). The steps generally consist of the following: 1. File the I-526 petition to prove your lawful source of funds; 2. Consular process for an immigrant visa (if you are abroad upon approval of the I-526 petition) or adjust status in the United States to a conditional permanent resident (if you are in the United States at the time of I-526 approval in another lawful immigration status); 3. File the I-829 petition to remove conditions on the green card and demonstrate job creation. In a direct EB-5 investment, your funds must create at least 10 full-time jobs directly. Full-time job means a job of at least 35 hours a week. In a regional center project investment, you may take advantage of indirect job creation and do not have to create jobs yourself because the regional center project will create them for you. After the I-829 is approved, you receive the permanent green card. Four years and nine months after your conditional green card is issued, you may apply for U.S. citizenship.

1. Consult immigration attorney; 2. Select the project and conduct necessary due diligence; 3. Start source of funds documentation; 4. Transfer funds to project escrow; 5. Sign subscription agreement; 6. Submit to USCIS; 7. Receive Notification from USCIS of submission.

There are two key professionals you should consult - an experienced investment immigration attorney who can show you a significant successful track record, and a registered broker dealer or registered investment advisor who can provide you with recommendations for a safe investment that meets USCIS requirements.

The first step is to find a good lawyer; then you need to find a good project; then you file the I-526; about one year later you get an approval and, if abroad, you get your conditional green card about six months later. About two years later you have to file to remove the conditions and get the full green card.