Congress created the EB-5 immigrant investor visa category in the Immigration Act of 1990 in the hopes of attracting foreign capital to the US and creating jobs for American workers in the process. The overall advantage of the EB-5 visa category is that it allows the beneficiary to engage in commercial enterprise anywhere in the US subject only to some restriction in the pilot program targeting certain areas. 

In general, the EB-5 Visa is an employment-based immigrant visa category that provides permanent resident status in the United States. EB-5 visas are issued through the U.S. Immigrant Investor Program, which is overseen by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). The Program allows foreign nationals the opportunity to become conditional permanent residents for a period of two years upon making an investment of $500,000 or $1 million. For the Investor Visa process in a “regional center”, the investment must be in a “new commercial enterprise” that is located in a designated Targeted Employment Area and must create at least ten new jobs for U.S. workers, either directly or indirectly. Once the job creation requirement is met, the conditions are removed and investors obtain unconditional permanent residency. 

The EB-5 Experience With The Immigration and Nationality Lawyers At The NPZ Law Group.  

Let one of America’s premier Immigration and Naturalization Law Firms guide you through the EB-5 Investor VISA process. NPZ Law Group continues to maintain a solid reputation for being able to tackle difficult cases and has a very successful track record in the US for dealing with the EB-5 process. We continue to service EB-5 clients from start to finish.

EB-5 Investment Process:

NPZ Law Group is your premier resource for obtaining U.S. permanent residence (green card) using the EB-5 investor visa classification. NPZ maintains a solid record of navigating clients through the EB-5 immigration process. Over the years, NPZ has continued to represent investors, developers, and regional centers and is experienced in many different types of qualifying investment structures within the EB-5 program.

The attorney-client relationship can easily exceed five years, so it is important for a client to pick a Law Firm that will assist with all aspects of the EB-5 process on a day to day basis.  The EB-5 process requires patience and persistence and the NPZ Law Group Attorneys stand by their clients throughout the process.

Assistance from EB-5 Professionals:

Our skilled immigration assist investors and their families with all stages of the EB-5 process including Adjustments of Status, Immigrant Visa Processing, Consular Interview preparation, and Source of Funds preparation. Additionally, we have extensive experience in dealing with common issues that arise in many countries, particularly China, India, Vietnam, and Turkey, such as restrictions on foreign currency exchange, transferring money abroad, forensic accounting issues, and translations. 

The Attorneys and staff at the NPZ Law Group are fluent in Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Turkish, Hebrew, German, Polish, Russian, Slovak, Czech, Hindi, Gujarati, Tagalog and several other languages.

NPZ Law Group’s Immigration and Nationality Lawyers operate with transparency and integrity throughout the EB-5 Visa process. We will guide you clearly through the entirety of your EB-5 investment, from the initial application to receiving your permanent U.S. green card. 

There are four general steps that investors must complete to become U.S. permanent residents through the “Regional Center” EB-5 visa program. Once these steps have been completed, EB-5 investors, their spouses, and their unmarried children under the age of 21 become U.S. permanent residents (receive green cards). They will also have the option to become full U.S. citizens five years after obtaining their permanent residency.

Step 1: Locating an EB-5 Project

The EB-5 applicant must first find a suitable business project to invest in. EB-5 Investment opportunities generally take the form of either “new commercial enterprises” or “regional center” projects. Applicants must ensure that they meet accredited investor income requirements in order to move forward with the EB-5 process.




 

Step 2: Capital Investment and I-526 Petition

After choosing a project to invest in, applicants must make the required capital investment in a project that they have chosen. The investment must be $1 million, or $500,000 if the project is situated in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA). These investments are often made into an escrow account. The immigration attorney provides proof of this investment by filing an I-526 petition along with supporting documentation with USCIS. USCIS typically informs applicants whether or not their I-526 petition has been accepted after 12 to 18 months. 


Step 3: Two Year Conditional Permanent Residency

The third step of the EB-5 application process is for the applicant to become a two year conditional resident of the US so they can implement the project funded by their EB-5 investment. EB-5 investors are eligible to become U.S. residents once their I-526 petition has been approved by USCIS. 

Residency can be obtained attained in one of two ways:

1. If the EB-5 investor already has lawful status in the US, then they can file an I-485 seeking to adjust their status to conditional permanent residence status. 

2. If the investor does not already have lawful status in the US, then they must file for an immigrant visa by submitting documents to the National Visa Center and they must process through the U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad. 

3. Both of these steps typically require the help of an immigration attorney and the immigrant visa is issued, on average, in six to twelve months. During the two year conditional residency period, the investor is required to fulfill physical presence requirements, and cannot remain outside of the US for more than one year without obtaining a re-entry permit.

Step 4: Unconditional Permanent Residency and the I-829 Petition

The final step in the EB-5 visa process is for applicants to become unconditional permanent residents by removing their two year conditional status. The I-829 is submitted to USCIS 90 days prior to the second anniversary of the date that the applicant first received their conditional residency. 

This application proves that the investor has met all requirements of the EB-5 visa program. USCIS most often issues a permanent green card six to eight months after the I-829 has been submitted. The investor, their spouses, and their unmarried children under the age of 21 can then permanently live and work in the United States and have the option to become U.S. citizens after a five year period from the date they received their initial conditional residency.

We trust you find this information helpful and come at your request, we would be happy to schedule an initial consultation with a member of our staff to discuss your EB-5 Investor Visa opportunities in the United States.

To schedule a consultation, please feel free to contact NPZ Law Group by e-mail or call 201-670-0006 (x107)

EB-5 Visas FAQs

 

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