If I want to apply for EB-5, when do I have to actually make the full payment of the $500,000 investment? Do I have to transfer the funds all at once into a holding account when I apply or do I make the investment only once my I-526 application has been approved?
Answers

Ed Beshara
Find the Best EB5 Visa LawyersAt the time of filing the I-526 petition the investment has to have been committed or in the process of being invested. That is, the total investment funds have to either be in the escrow account for the project or already having been transferred to the new commercial enterprise.

Fredrick W Voigtmann
Find the Best EB5 Visa LawyersAlthough the law and regulations allow for the applicant to be "in the process of investing," in most cases, the required amount of EB-5 capital will have to be invested and fully at risk in order for the I-526 petition to be approved. The investment should be made (either into the EB-5 project account or an escrow account) prior to filing your I-526 petition.

Barbara Suri
Find the Best EB5 Visa LawyersProof that the $500,000 has been paid in full is one of the documents that MUST accompany the I-526 filing.

Ian E Scott
Find the Best EB5 Visa LawyersThe EB-5 investment is transferred to the project, business or to an escrow account before the I-526 petition is filed.

Salvatore Picataggio
Find the Best EB5 Visa LawyersGenerally, investors have the entire amount in an escrow account or the new commercial enterprise's operating account before filing their I-526 petition (this can be done immediately before filing, but the proof of the investment is included). If you use an escrow account, some projects will condition the release of funds upon filing the I-526 or wait for I-526 approval. Either way, escrow accounts are accepted by USCIS.

Jinhee Wilde
Find the Best EB5 Visa LawyersIn order for the I-526 to be successful, you must prove that you have invested your money into a job-creating new enterprise and put your money at risk. Thus, you must transfer the full investment amount to the account before you submit the I-526. In addition, earlier, when the EB-5 process was still in its infancy, USCIS allowed the funds to be held in an escrow until they adjudicated the case, but with the longer processing times (currently 14+ months), and tighter scrutiny on whether the investment was really put at risk, most regional centers will release the funds to the job-creating entity so that the requisite jobs will be created timely.

Lynne Feldman
Find the Best EB5 Visa LawyersTypically the whole amount is paid prior to filing the I-526. We suggest an escrow agreement that would specify the return of your money should the I-526 be denied for any reason.

John J Downey
Find the Best EB5 Visa LawyersThe requirement is that the funds be at risk. You may not make the acceptance of your application as a condition of your investment. If your business plan calls for incremental infusion of the money that could be acceptable.
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