Investing in Employment-Based 5 Immigrant Visa Classification
September 30th, 2014 by SRW Lawyers
Many foreign nationals are attracted to the EB-5 Immigrant Visa category as a streamlined classification to qualify for an immigrant visa because it leads to permanent resident status without first requiring a qualifying relative and/or adherence with strict employment-based preference categories. Additionally, it rarely requires that the foreign national be subject to a priority-date backlog (although that may no longer be the case in the future for various nationalities).
For those foreign nationals pursuing an Immigrant Visa through the EB-5 category through their investment in a EB-5 Regional Center (as opposed to creating their own business, investing either $500,000 or $1M, and being directly responsible for job creation), the foreign national should take great care in choosing the Regional Center. Ideally, the foreign national will review the Regional Center’s current prospectus with an experienced financial professional to review the suitability of the investment to the foreign national and ensure their understanding of the risks/return on investment, etc. Concurrently, the foreign national should also vet the Regional Center itself to ensure it is legitimate USCIS designated Regional Center and determine their history with USCIS – rate of approvals, rate of RFE’s, etc. Sadly, several Regional Centers in the recent past have been exposed as scams, resulting in the foreign nationals losing their hard-earned funds and jeopardizing their ability to become U.S. permanent residents.
To conclude, while the EB-5 Immigrant Visa category may be an attractive vehicle for foreign nationals seeking a streamlined path to a green card, it has its traps and should be pursued with a healthy amount of caution.
