The EB-5 Immigrant Investor program is a method for qualified foreigners to obtain a visa green card and permanent U.S. residence by making an investment into an approved EB-5 project. The process may seem simple but without an established immigration attorney who has experience with EB-5, it can be quite difficult. Filing applications to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and providing the information needed to make the investment and obtain an EB-5 visa are crucial steps and must be completed with the utmost care.
The first application that must be filed is called an I-526. This petition is generally filed once the investor has chosen an EB-5 project to invest in. The I-526 is reviewed by the USCIS and approved if the applicant is eligible for EB-5 status based on the project chosen and inspection of where the invested funds came from; the applicant must be able to prove that the funds were legally obtained. The I-526 can take anywhere from two months to six months to be approved depending on the volume of immigration applications the USCIS has pending and how long it takes to verify the project and the source of funds.
The applicant must then undergo an extensive background check and a medical examination. Once approved, the development of the EB-5 project begins. Upon completion, the USCIS must examine the EB-5 project to verify the job creation requirement, that at least 10 full-time jobs were either created or saved either directly or indirectly. In order for this to happen the investor must then submit an I-829 petition to remove the investor's conditional status.
If the EB-5 project was successful in its job creation and all USCIS requirements were fulfilled, the investor, the investor's spouse and their unmarried children under the age of 21 receive EB-5 visa green cards that grant them permanent U.S. residence.
More information on the EB-5 program is available at http://www.eb5exclusive.com where all of the latest news and resources can be found.