Questions
1. Why does your website say I must Invest USD $1,000,000 to apply for a green card, when I have been told by others that I only have to invest USD $500,000?
2. How many of my family members can also apply and receive a green card if my application is approved?
3. When do I have to pay the USD $1,000,000 and who do I pay it to?
4. What if my I-526 is not approved?
5. What are my chances of having my petition approved? Is it a long shot?
6. What assurance or guarantee do I have that my investment will be used as you say it will, and will not be used for other purposes that I don’t know about?
7. Can my wife, husband, or children be hired as employees by the company and counted towards the 10 full time workers?
8. What if after two years, my I-829 petition to have the green card conditions removed is not approved by USCIS. Will my investment be returned to me?
9. As a limited partner in the new enterprise, what liabilities will I be responsible for?
10. What kind of agent fees, commissions or other legal fees do you charge?
11. If my I-829 petition is approved, can you also help me apply for US citizenship?
12. Where is the new enterprise located and what type of business is it?
13. Can I meet with a Director from B&A Far East Limited?
Answers
1.
The Immigrant Investor Program was established by the US Congress in 1990. The objective is to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. The minimum qualifying investment established by the USCIS was USD$ 1,000,000. In 1992 a pilot program was established to set aside a certain number of EB-5 visas for investors contributing smaller investments of USD$ 500,000 specifically through Regional Centers. USCIS designates some business entities as Regional Centers based on proposals for promoting economic growth in Targeted Employment Areas. Targeted Employment Areas are either rural areas or areas of relatively high unemployment.
Conclusion:
Over 90% of all EB-5 applications are of the second kind ($500,000). This is due in part to the fact that most foreign investors do not know how or where to invest in a U.S. New Commercial Enterprise.
Many U.S. and Chinese companies offer $500,000 investment projects through Regional Centers, however very few visas (I-829 petitions) are actually granted. There are two main reasons for the low visa approval rate.
Reason 1 is that many solicitors for $500,000 investment projects guarantee that the investment funds will be returned within set period of time. This is illegal and against the USCIS regulations because the investment must be put at risk, and cannot legally be guaranteed.
Reason 2 is that of the two programs, the $500,000 investment program is more complicated due to more loosely defined job creation criteria. It is difficult to prove to USCIS that the investment creates the required 10 direct or indirect jobs.
Due to these complications, it takes USCIS more time to review $500,000 investment cases, and relatively few $500,000 investors are ultimately approved for full green cards after two years. The quickest and simplest way to apply for an Immigrant Investor Visa (Green Card) is to invest $1,000,000 in accordance with the original spirit and intention of the U.S. Congress program.
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2.
Your spouse and all unmarried children under the age of 21 automatically receive all the same program benefits that you do.
Your application does not in any way preclude your children above the age of 21, or other family members, from applying for Immigrant Investor Visas on their own.
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3.
Our U.S. immigration attorney will help you prepare your initial I-526 Petition (application). He will review the company’s business plan and escrow agreement with you to make sure you are comfortable with the entire process.
The immigration attorney will also help you prepare documentation to show the lawful acquisition of investment funds. At this time, you will need to have the investment amount set aside and prepared, but you do not need to actually invest it yet.
Only when the I-526 application is approved by USCIS will you need to authorize the release of funds to the new company.
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4.
If for some reason your I-526 petition is not approved, then your funds (contained in an escrow account) will default back to you in full.
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5.
No, it is almost a sure thing. On the USCIS’s website under “EB-5 Investor Process”, the USCIS lists the four criteria used to judge a petition. These are:
1) Show that the company was formed after 1990.
2) Show that the investor will be actively involved in the management of the company day-to-day or through policy.
3) Show that you have invested, or are in the process of investing the required amount, and that the funds were obtained lawfully.
4) Show that your investment will create 10 full time jobs for U.S. workers.
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6.
To satisfy both the job requirement and the management requirement, once your I-526 petition is approved, the escrow account will transfer your investment into a new company bank account that you and one other company officer will control.
Two signatures will be required every month for that account to make a deposit directly into the company’s payroll account. Once the funds are deposited into the payroll account every month, the company’s employees will then be paid. Therefore, you will have total and direct control over how the money is spent, and when it is spent.