Should you compare EB5 investor visa projects with the help of a lawyer?
The situation is understandable; you are looking into the various regional center options for your choice of EB-5 program and are spending days, weeks maybe months (it may seem like a lifetime) searching the internet in an attempt to find information on the relative advantages, or just as importantly disadvantages, of the ever growing number of regional centers.
A number of the most experienced immigration lawyers do not provide guidance on choice of regional centers. Instead they focus on the legal aspects of the EB-5 visa. Indeed there have been a number of seminars where leading EB-5 immigration attorney’s have stressed that Immigration Lawyers should not be providing advice on your choice of regional center – their focus should be on the actual legal immigration process.
So you continue to search for useful information; such as how many successful applicants have each center processed, however, how helpful is that statistic? For example, if a program has a high number of non-English speaking applicants what are the implications that are not readily apparent from the bare statistics?
When a web site quotes comparative statistics how up to date and accurate are those statistics and indeed how meaningful? The US economy is still undergoing massive changes and regional center programs that were popular a couple of years ago, at a time of significantly higher returns, may require other considerations in the light of a more conservative attitude.
Another factor that is not readily apparent from the web is how are programs actually performing once fully subscribed? Have buildings been constructed, jobs been created, what issues have come to the surface and have investors had their monies returned?
If you are looking into regional center options for your choice of EB5 regional center independent, impartial information can be found on Which EB-5, contact Andrew Bartlett or Stephen Parnell to find out what they discovered on their visits to these regional center programs.
Retire in the USA using the EB5 Visa - Live in the Sunshine States or anywhere else
Increasing numbers of overseas visitors love to spend part of the year in the ’sunny all year round’ states of Florida, California and Arizona. However, those wanting to retire and relocate permanently to the U.S. have often found it difficult or near impossible due to no specific visa that allows retirees to live in America year round, even if they are wealthy and self supporting.
There has been talk for years of a silver visa but nothing ever materialized. Unless retirees have a close American relative, or buy a business, permanent retirement to America has always been simply a dream. Not so any longer, as more potential retiree’s consider the EB-5 visa regional centre pilot program as the answer to living permanently in the USA. This visa category has been a blessing to retirees wishing to permanently retire to the States as it does not require them to directly operate a business.
In return for a $500,000 investment in an approved regional center program many people can achieve their lifelong dreams of permanent residence in the USA. If you would like full details of exactly how this visa category can work for you visit Which EB5 for complete EB-5 visa details.
Why are an increasing number of E2 visa holders looking at the EB5 option?
For many, living in the USA has been made possible by using the E2 visa program. However, for those E2 visa holders who have resided in America for a number of years there has been a degree of anxiety as well as expense at renewal time. Indeed, it is increasingly clear that renewal of this visa cannot be taken for granted however long you have lived in The States. New E2 applicants are also finding a variable waiting period, possibility of rejection, and the need to inject an increasingly higher level of funding to find a qualifying business.
There are particular concerns if you wish to retire, have children approaching their 21st birthday, or if you want to remain permanently in The USA.
Another potential downside is the E-2 has ‘non-immigrant’ status, which has serious implications that few point out.
There are thousands of E2 visa holders living in the US but sooner or later they are going to have to confront their status and plan for the long term, for if they sell their business or it ceases trading their visa may not be renewed. Also, children at 21 will need their own visas or be forced to leave the US. Such a lack of security may not suit everyone looking to reside in the US.
What makes the EB-5 Visa program different from the E-2 visa?
Participation in the EB-5 Immigrant Investor program provides permanent resident status (green card). Permanent residency has the major advantage of not requiring renewal or re-application. In contrast, the E-2 visa allows for non-immigrant status only. When the qualifying business/investment ends, so does the non-immigrant status that has been granted to the E-2 visa holder who may have to leave the United States unless another visa category is granted.
U.S. non-immigrant visas, such as E-1, E-2 and H category visas may never result in permanent residency, have time limits, and require additional filings with USCIS or Department of State.
Contact us for more information on how the EB5 can be a viable alternative to the E2 using the form on the right
Putting together a personal EB5 timetable is good advice
Each investor and his or her family have ideas about what they would like their own personal timeline to look like. You should have some idea of a target date or estimated date when you would like to be living in America. Formulating your personal timeline can be difficult and this is where the guidance of an experienced EB5 immigration attorney will prove invaluable. He or she will help you match your goals and needs with the reality of the process and capabilities of processing within the constraints set by outside factors; namely the regional center you choose to invest in and the USCIS.
No discussion of time lines for EB-5 investing is complete without at least introducing the basic timeline for investing from the regional center perspective. USCIS’s procedures and processing times determine most of the timeline in this process; however, you should not underestimate the impact of the regional center and its time lines and procedures on your personal goals.
The timeline for investing from start to finish will vary. In fact, the proposed timeline for a center and their track record for abiding by it may be one of those considerations that you and your immigration consultant weigh when choosing the right regional center for your investment. For further information on time lines for various regional centers contact Which EB-5
A recent article in the Economist magazine (December 19th 2009) looked at this question in some depth and made some interesting points; including the observation that one of the greatest strengths of America is that people want to live there. A recent immigrant was quoted as saying “America is a land that offers the chance to be whatever you want to be, it is a place where nearly any immigrant can find a niche. In America you can say what you think.”
The article points out that as America is so big and diverse that immigrants have an incredible array of choices. The proportion of Americans who are foreign born is 13% and nearly all Americans are descended from people who came from somewhere else in the past couple of centuries. No matter where an immigrant comes from he can find a cluster of his ethnic kin somewhere in America.
America has 50 states with 50 sets of laws. In America people with unusual hobbies are generally left alone.
Alejandro Mayorkas of the United States Citizenship and Immigration service is quoted as saying “People come to America either because they yearn for freedom or because they are fleeing something – be it a war or a culture that irks them “.
For more information on immigrating to America on the EB-5 investment visa contact info@whicheb5.com
For those of you looking for families who have EB-5 visa experience and have subsequently settled in America, or are looking for facts on regional centers or attorneys who have the greatest experience of EB-5 options, there is now a wide range of detailed information available to you.
As the EB-5 program has now been operating for several years there are a numbers of families who have experienced the entire cycle. They originally obtained their I-526’s, had conditions removed via the I-829, have lived in the US long enough to apply for citizenship, and have had a return on their original $500,000 investment or are due to in the next few months.
Their experience on the return on their investments are particularly interesting for those considering the EB-5 option as some investing in particular centers received back less than they originally invested; others are likely to receive back at least the $500.000 they initially invested plus interest.
It is also interesting to analyze the relative experience of the sixty plus regional centers that have been approved by the USCIS to offer regional center EB-5 programs. Again there are significant differences when using different criteria to measure results. All of which are important for potential EB5 investors to consider.
If you are seeking feedback of either immigrants experience of the EB-5 or the experience of the various regional centers it would be worth contacting WhichEB5 who have carried out research in these areas. Visit Which EB5 now for full information.
For the past few days we have been looking at the reasons why the EB-5 visa has been of interest to particular groups of immigrants – Today we look at a case study taken from one of our previous 100+ investors that relates to a couple who achieved their life-long dream to retire permanently in the USA.
A British couple who had spent many happy holidays with their children in Orlando Florida over the past twenty years had been looking at ways they might be able to retire permanently but were concerned that their only options apparently related to the E2 and L1 visas which either did not allow, or offer, the security of immediate permanent residence. They were also concerned that the immigration Attorneys they spoke to focused only on the legal aspects but were not really listening to their personal requirements including their wide ranging concerns on living their retirement in America.
After a meeting with Andrew Bartlett they decided to look at the EB-5 pilot program in more detail and with the husbands retirement in sight they decided to invest $500,000 in a limited partnership project in an approved and proven regional center. The program was for the improvement of a commercial warehouse project in a developing area of a major US city, the building has subsequently been renovated and leased generating a rental income of $30,000 a year.
The couple decided on a clean break from the UK, selling their British home and the rental properties they also owned which provided them with total net worth well in excess of the required (by the US government) million dollar figure along with ongoing retirement income from their years of employment.
The I-526 approval took several months and the couple were then interviewed at the U.S. Consulate in London and granted immigrant visas.
Following a further briefing with us covering key issues such as medical insurance, doctors, driving tests, shipping of their possessions and the pros and cons of different locations, they relocated to Venice Florida on the basis of the things to do, the quality of life and very competitive housing costs.
The couple have subsequently had their I-829 removal of conditions granted and have settled into the Florida way of life playing a lot of tennis and golf and making friends (making them more active and busier than they were in the UK) – Their grown up children and families visit them at least twice a year and they return to the UK when their grandchildren are on school holidays.
We have continued to keep in touch and checked out issues that have cropped up with them for the benefit of new investors, a key one being the exit strategy of the program they opted for in the light of the world downturn and subsequent attractive projects coming on the market.
If you are planning to retire permanently to the USA and are interested in the EB5 regional center pilot program you can contact us here.
The truth of the matter is that choosing the right regional center really does matter, a lot. Not only is your immigration and residence at stake, but the rest of your life is relying on your choosing the right regional center to back you. After all, this is a serious investment of a very large sum of cash, and that can never be taken lightly. At the very least you want to protect your principal investment; and keep in mind the performance of the regional center could well have an impact on the removal of conditions from your green card. This is investing in America, and should be treated with all the seriousness of any investment that you would consider making.
So what does the right regional center look like? At its most basic, the right regional center is one that has:
• USCIS approval and designation as an active regional center
• A proven track record, not only of investment and business success, but of visa approval, too
• Or, if a new center, a solid, strong business plan and the knowledge to back them and you throughout the entire immigration process
• The personnel and expertise that is necessary to efficiently and smartly operate a RC, and manage profitable investment projects
More than this, though, a regional center has to fit your own personal goals and interests. It has to help you achieve the end-goal of legal permanent U.S. residence, but in a way that is comfortable and workable for you. It must meet your reasonable expectations for return on that investment. Going a step further, your choice in a regional center should satisfy your own personal standards, and be as perfect a fit as you can achieve given the options available to you. When you have accomplished that, you have really put your money to work for you.
Over the last week I have been traveling America continuing my quest to meet with representatives and/or attorneys representing regional centers. I am digesting the content of my notes from this trip and will be looking for points that affect our client’s choice of EB-5 Regional Center. We will feature many of these observations here on our Which EB-5 blog in the coming weeks.
Some of my early observations still come back to the same important questions:
1. How safe is the job creation methodology, will my Green Card become permanent?
2. What is the exit strategy – How will I get my investment back and when?
3. What are the implications of a regional center requiring the client to use a designated attorney and does that create a conflict of interest?
4. How do relatively new regional centers compare to those with a track record?
5. Does the geographic location of a regional center have an impact on the client’s choice of where to invest? Should it?
6. With so many new EB-5 regional center choices becoming available, what is the best way for a potential immigrant investor to choose where to invest, who to trust?
As we progress through 2009 our clients around the world will undoubtedly be bombarded with creative advertising offering all sorts of exotic camera shots of fantastic looking destinations all in an effort to promote any one particular regional center. Don’t let that glamour cloud your judgment. Forget the sales spiel; focus on the cold hard facts, some of which may be a little cloudy!
Despite what you might be told by employees or representatives of regional centers I have one sage piece of advice: Don’t be hasty! Even if you are told that spaces are limited, or time is running out (both of these statements may be perfectly true). Make sure you are entirely happy with your decision before you sign agreements or part with your funds. A very wise and wealthy friend once said to me “If it’s a good deal today, it will be a good deal tomorrow”.
Keep watching this space for updates. Contact me directly for a chat or with questions if you want help with your EB-5 visa choices.
Many calls, messages and emails this week from potential EB-5 investors concerning the strength or otherwise of the U.S. economy and its potential effect on the future of the EB-5 visa.
It is important that potential EB-5 investors see exactly how they US economy can have an effect, positive or negative, on thier choice of Regional Center project.
As an immigrant myself, (I’ve been resident since 1991) who arrived in America during an economic downtown, I can say that this one is different. (Slight understatement there) What I can also say is that overwhelmingly, the American people, through history, have shown an amazing resilience to adversity. That said, we have a lot to put right. But then so does the rest of the world.
I do believe, that despite the current economic climate, and the bickering in Washington over A.I.G bonuses, we are just beginning to see the first signs that a bottom is in sight. But please don’t take my word for it. Below is the first video in a set of two (the second one out tomorrow) which show an amazing alignment of views from a) perhaps the worlds most powerful banker, chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke and b) perhaps the worlds most prominent, long-term successful businessman Warren Buffet (second most welathy man in the USA) head of Berkshire Hathaway.
Take a look at the video from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (I assure you it’s worth your time) and note the specific points of light he sees. We will then compare these to the points that are raised by Warren Buffet in tomorrow’s video and you will see why I beleive the USA will lead the rest of the world out of this current downturn.
Feel free to contact us with comments and concerns using this blog, Twitter or Skype.
WhichEB5.com, its owners and associates, do not function as attorneys or legal counsel and do not attempt to interpret immigration law and do not provide or offer legal advice or legal services or investment advice. Anyone considering an Investment based Visa should seek independent professional advice. The information on this site is intended to be general and should not be relied upon for any specific situation. Any reference to designated regional centers on this website is posted as reference material only. For legal advice, please contact one of our attorneys. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each person.
