Will my EB-5 application impact my daughter”s F-1 visa?

You should not intentionally leave out your daughter when filing an I-526 petition. Because she is listed as a derivative beneficiary, this does not indicate she has an immigrant intent for student visa application purposes because she is not the principal EB-5 investor who files I-526 petition.

Given the fact that you are the principal EB-5 investor, your daughter can truthfully answer that she has not applied for immigrant visa status or filed a related petition when she applies for her non-immigrant F-1 Student visa. However, should the fact that she is the beneficiary of your petition come up, it could negatively impact her eligibility for a non-immigrant F-1 Student visa since every applicant has the burden proof under Section 214(b) to prove that they do not intend to immigrate to the United States. Again, this may not be an issue, but you have to list your daughter on your petition anyway.

You need to name her when you file. The burden will be on her to show she intends to go to school and then return home for the consular interview for any immigrant case which is approved.

The Form I-526 basically determines whether or not YOU meet the criteria for an EB-5 visa. As part of the requirement, you MUST list all of your immediate family members, whether or not they intend to file for derivative visas if and when your I-526 is approved. As such, I do not believe that your daughter's application for an F visa will be affected.

There will be no impact on your daughter if she is listed as a derivative beneficiary of your EB-5 Petition (I-526). Since she is not a principal applicant, she will not run into immigrant intent issues when she applies for nonimmigrant visas (i.e., F-1).

A student must now prove they intend to depart the United States at the conclusion of his or her study or OPT. If they cannot, the Consul must refuse the visa. Filing an I-526 and intentionally leaving off the child because they plan to obtain a student visa may backfire. The consul may want to know why the child was left off and, if they feel it was an omission designed to omit important information, it could result in a misrepresentation allegation. So, while it is a negative factor when applying for a student visa, leaving her off may be a worse alternative.

Please note that an I-526 is your petition as an investor. Just having your family listed as derivatives does not make that petition theirs. Thus, your daughter should not have any trouble getting her F-1 visa application approved as long as she has not filed the DS-260, the immigrant visa application, and barring any other 214(b) issues.

If your daughter applies for the student visa after you file the I-526, she may be impacted because Immigration may claim she has immigrant intent. The best way to avoid this problem is to have her apply for the student visa prior to filing the I-526. Also, it is best practice to include her on your initial I-526 as it may cause complications if you leave her off.