August 19th, 2010 |
The EB-5 regional center pilot program visa provides the opportunity for green cards and permanent residency in the USA for the applicant, their spouse and children under 21. The U.S. government, through The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has so far approved approximately 100 regional centers to offer programs that qualify for this visa which requires an investment of $500,000 if the program is in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA).
One of the questions sometimes asked by potential applicants is do I have to live in the area that I invest in? The simple terms answer is no. Under the regional center pilot program you are free to invest in any of the regional center programs and can live wherever you want, regardless of where you invest.
Having established you do not need to invest where you live, it is worth examining why you would even want to.
It is a reasonable assumption that most families looking at the EB-5 regional center route to permanent residency in the USA, wish to invest in program that best matches their priorities and requirements, which according to leading EB-5 consumer advocates, has:-
- A good track record of approvals.
- Clear evidence that the program will create 10 jobs per investor, or in certain cases save jobs, and return the $500,000 investment.
- A fixed term so they know exactly when their investment will be returned.
Most don’t want
- Ambiguity regarding the term, particularly in the current economic climate
- A project that has experienced refusals, particularly at the I-829 stage. (This relates to the removal of conditions after two years).
- A center currently experiencing litigation or potential shut down by USCIS.
- Directors with an ambiguous or troubled history.
- A regional center program that simply views the program as an easy and cheap way to raise cash, from captive and unprepared overseas investors.
As you can from the above criteria, the key is to find the best program to match your requirements rather than focusing on a program in the location you are planning to reside in. It is imperative you chose the most appropriate regional center program regardless of where it is located, as you require it to work, so the necessary jobs are created, the program succeeds and your investment is returned. It is pointless choosing a program in the area you are planning to live in unless it can deliver these essential requirements.
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Tags: eb-5, green card, I-829, permanent residence, pilot program, regional center, USA, uscis, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
August 3rd, 2010 |
 EB-5 비자 관련 입증된 지역 센터 프로그램에 대해 올바른 정보를 얻은 한국 이민 가정
EB-5 지역 센터 프로그램이 미국으로 이민하는 한국인들에게 매우 잘 알려진 프로그램이긴 하지만 우려 사항 또한 있어 왔습니다. 이 우려는 한국 이민 가정에서 EB-5 비자 절차를 밟은 후 $500,000를 투자한 특정 프로그램과 관련해 발생한 법적 문제 및 소송이 발단이 되었습니다.
미국으로 이주하려는 한 한국 가정에서는 앞서 살펴본 가정과 같은 문제를 방지하기 위해 WhichEB5에 다양한 지역 센터 프로그램과 관련된 자세한 정보 및 지침을 문의하여 이러한 프로그램들의 긍정적인 면뿐 아니라 부정적인 면에 대해서도 알아보기를 원했습니다. 이 가정은 신뢰할 수 있는 장기간의 실적을 가지고 있으며 I-526 승인 및 I-829 조건 해지 후에 이전 클라이언트에게 자금을 전액 상환한 적이 있는(위의 경우 $500,000 투자금 전액) 지역 센터를 찾기 원했습니다. 이러한 조건을 모두 충족하는 한 회사를 찾은 후 이 가정은 해당 회사가 제공하는 프로그램에 성공적으로 지원할 수 있었습니다.
South Korean family successfully seek advice on EB-5 visa regional center program
Although the EB-5 regional center program had been very popular with South Korean citizens immigrating to the USA there have been concerns. These concerns were following reports of litigation involving Korean families, who had several years previously taken the EB-5 visa route and subsequently discovered legal issues relating to the particular program they had invested their $500,000 capital with. A South Korean family wishing to relocate to the USA had therefore contacted WhichEB5 for guidance on the latest position regarding the various regional center programs, as they wanted to be informed of the negative details as well as the positive details of the various programs, so that they were aware of the issues that had clearly caused difficulties for the families above. The family wanted to identify regional centers that had not only a reliable and long term track record but had also repaid previous clients funds in full i.e. returned the full $500,000 investment following the granting of the I-526 approval and the removal of conditions at the I-829 stage. A company was identified that met all these criteria and the family successfully applied for a place on their program.
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Tags: eb-5, I-526, I-829, Korean, regional center, South Korea, USA, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
July 28th, 2010 |
 A businessman with interests in Oman and the UK used our services to understand the EB-5 visa and to gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the various regional center programs. He wanted to focus on real estate opportunities and was looking at a long term time frame. After going through the options he opted for a well established center with a wide range of diverse developments. He successfully applied for the visa and is shortly due to have the conditions removed (I-829)as he has held the conditional visa for coming up to two years. We have continued to keep in touch and checked out issues that have cropped up with him for the benefit of new investors.
Read more EB-5 Success Stories here
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Tags: eb-5, I-829, Oman, regional center, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
July 23rd, 2010 |
 The family who had been looking for the best way to achieve permanent residency in America, decided to use all the facilities of WhichEB5 to thoroughly research all the various proven EB-5 programs. They wished to look in-depth across a range of programs in particular the likelihood of the necessary jobs being created in time to ensure the removal of conditions at I-829 stage. We identified for the family that although some centers seemed to indicate their affiliation with State Government this was giving a misleading impression in relation to the guarantee or otherwise of the actual return of the investment. We had a long video consult as a first step then met with them for a detailed face to face follow-up.
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Tags: America, eb-5, guarantee, I-829, investment, jamaican, misleading, permanent residence, state government, visa, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
July 13th, 2010 |
 A Canadian businessman’s main priority when looking at relocation to the USA via the EB-5 visa was selecting a regional center to obtain a green card as fast as possible then to recover the initial capital invested as quickly as possible. A return on the investment was felt to be a bonus but not a priority. The businessman initially expressed a preference for a center with a simple business plan that invests in a tangible asset as opposed to providing business loans. He had some concerns regarding a few of the asset based programs compared to loan ones given their potential vulnerability at I-829 stage in relation to job creation, poor returns from the initial programs (i.e. less than the initial investment), and ambiguous exit strategies. The actual process from investment to approval took just under four months and he has now resettled in the USA and remains pleased with his choice.
Read more EB-5 Success Stories here
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Tags: canadian, eb-5, green card, I-829, regional center, USA, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
July 12th, 2010 |
 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 in the U.S. but were concerned that their only options apparently related to the E2 and L1 visas (which do not allow or guarantee permanent residence). They were also concerned that the attorneys they spoke with, focused only on the legal aspects but were not really listening to their personal requirements, including their wide ranging concerns on their retirement in America. I-526 approval took several months and the couple were then interviewed at the U.S. Consulate in London and granted immigrant visas. The couple have subsequently had their I-829 removal of conditions granted and have settled very happily in the Florida way of life playing a lot of tennis and golf and making friends has as they say “made them more active and busier than they were in the UK “.
Read more EB-5 Success Stories here
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Tags: attorneys, british, E2, eb-5, I-526, I-829, L1, permanent residence, removal of conditions, retire, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
July 8th, 2010 |
This family owned a large business in Australia and the UK. They required a visa that offered permanent residency and green cards for the whole family as they had older teenage children they were concerned that otherwise there was too much risk for their future. They decided to invest $500,000 in a Limited Partnership under a Regional Center in a Targeted Employment area. The Project involved the demolition, renovation and construction of a warehouse/storage complex for mixed use. Upon completion of the construction the new structure housed tenants and created 10 direct/indirect jobs for each of the Investors in the project The I-526 approval took several months and the couple were then interviewed at the U.S. Consulate and granted visas. The family have now had their conditions removed (I-829 stage) and are considering US citizenship.
Read more EB-5 Success Stories by clicking on this link
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Tags: eb-5, green card, I-526, I-829, regional center, targeted employment area, USA, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
June 14th, 2010 |
When you are looking for a Consultant to guide you through the EB-5 investor visa options you need to look beyond their sales claims and instead focus on key basic issues. From our experience, working for a number of years on EB-5 visas and successfully working with over 150 families, EB5 consultants should at least possess the following characteristics otherwise you may be making unnecessary and dangerous risks with your $500,000 capital, as well as risking deportation if your approval fails at the I-829 removal-of-conditions stage. Over the next three days we will be looking at those qualities, namely:
• Impartiality
• Credibility
• Transparency
Today we will look at: Impartiality
Some Consultant’s advise both regional centers as well as individuals seeking impartial advice on the positives and negatives of regional centers; this may create a potential conflict of interest.
If a consultant is advising regional centers on how to best market or sell their programs it is hard to see how, at the same time, a consultant can claim to impartially recommend a range of different programs to individual clients.
Another issue relates to finder’s fees which regional centers pay to Consultants and sometimes to Attorneys, these can vary substantially. In certain cases these may include an ongoing percentage of interest payments.
A further issue can relate to Consultants having sole representation of a particular centers product. Again, in particular circumstances this may result in a conflict of interest.
Make sure your EB5 consultant is independent.
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Tags: consultants, eb-5, eb5, I-829, investor visa, regional center, removal of conditions, visa
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
June 8th, 2010 |
 It is interesting how potential immigrants from various countries have very different initial priorities when looking at the regional center program options. In working with clients from around the world it has sometimes surprised us how this can affect the regional center program that different nationalities may opt for and we remain concerned that not all potential immigrants are always given the widest range of options. This can have a major potential impact:-
For example, some programs may well seem an excellent option in terms of successfully completing the initial I-526 petition stage and the two year conditional green card approval HOWEVER, this is only half the story. It is also necessary to have the conditions removed (I-829) (application at 21 months) and most investors are hoping for a return of their investment after a number of years. The implications of this require detailed explanation – for further information please contact the partners at Which EB-5.
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Tags: eb-5, I-526, I-829, investor visa, regional center, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
May 28th, 2010 |
 Where to get real information on the EB-5 visa program 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, and their green cards, 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 regional centers received back less than they originally invested; others are likely to receive back at least the $500.000 they initially invested possibly more.
It is also interesting to analyze the experience of the many regional centers that have been approved by the USCIS to offer regional center EB-5 programs; there are significant differences when using different criteria to measure results, all of which are important for potential EB5 investors to understand.
If you are seeking feedback of either immigrant’s experience of the EB-5 or the experience of the various regional centers it would be worth contacting Which EB5 who have carried out extensive research in these areas and received feedback from families who have been through the entire EB-5 process.
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Tags: eb-5, eb5, eb5 investors, green card, I-526, I-829, information, investment, investors, regional center, uscis, visa, Which EB-5
Posted in Immigration | No Comments » |
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