Assistance From An EB5 Visa Lawyer

If you are a citizen of another country seeking to pursue permanent U.S. residency by creating jobs in the United States, the EB5 visa program could offer you a valuable immigration opportunity. As detailed by the USCIS, the EB5 investor visa program’s purpose was to allow for economic growth by presenting immigrants with a path to permanent U.S. residency that directly benefited the U.S. economy through job creation.

To determine if you qualify for a green card, permanent resident status, and related benefits, it is helpful to have your case reviewed by an EB5 visa Lawyer with experience helping clients achieve their immigration goals. At George & Marzialo, PLLC, you’ll have the benefit of our years of experience supporting applications and tracking their progress. Our experience ensures your application will be optimized to best support your immigration goals.

Requirements to Apply through the EB5 Visa Path to a Green Card

The EB-5 investor visa program is managed by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which clarifies that investors, in addition to their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21, are eligible to apply for permanent residency through a green card if they meet the following requirements:

Have made the “necessary investment” into a commercial enterprise in the U.S., and
Intend to create or preserve at least 10 permanent full-time jobs open to qualified U.S. workers
Invest at least $500,000 before recent legislative changes, which have since increased the minimum investment amount to $800,000, when your investment does business in what is considered a “targeted” employment area
In areas that are not “targeted,” a minimum investment of $1.2 million (was previously $1 million)

The program is generally referred to as the EB5 because participants receive an employment-based fifth preference visa. Congress established the EB5 Program in 1990 to stimulate U.S. economic growth through the encouragement of capital investment and the creation of domestic jobs for foreign investors. Two years later, the Immigrant Investor Program, also referred to as the Regional Center Program was established. The Regional Center Program sets aside EB5 visas for persons who invest in commercial enterprises that are associated with regional centers approved by the USCIS.

About The Application Process

If you are seeking an EB5 investor visa, the process begins by filing Form I-526 with the USCIS, the Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, including providing all the necessary supporting documentation and evidence. Upon submitting your petition, you are assigned a priority date under the visa quota system. The priority date is based on your submission date.

When your I-526 petition is approved, and once a visa is available under the visa quota system, qualified investors, in addition to their accompanying family, can apply for immigrant visas with the United States. Embassy or consulate in their nation of citizenship or their residence abroad. Persons who are eligible and already in the U.S. can apply for permanent resident status through USCIS. At George & Marzialo, an EB5 visa Lawyer can assist you with every step of the application process.

Documenting Lawful Source of Funds in EB-5

Various legislation, which is constantly evolving, has been put into place to ensure the funds used by EB5 applicants were acquired legally. Under EB5 regulations, investor applicants must submit documentation demonstrating the source of all capital invested into the enterprise. The source of the funds will determine what requirements apply when submitting information. Working with an experienced EB5 visa Lawyer with a history of helping EB5 applicants achieve their goals will provide your application with a solid foundation to build your U.S.-based investment goals.

Our Services for Direct EB5 Investors

Having your EB5 investor visa application approved requires careful construction, which takes into account not only the requirements of the Regional Center Program that will review your application but also their preferences. An EB5 visa Lawyer at George & Marzialo will break the process into three categories to strategically approach your application:

Advising you on how to structure your investment to ensure EB5 compliance properly
Ensuring proper documentation of the lawful source of the funds for your investment
Assisting in the completion of applications for renewal conditions on permanent residence through Form I-829

When navigating the condition removal process, direct EB-5 investors need to provide extensive supporting evidence. All employment must be tracked from the time of investment to the time when the I-829 petition is filed. Incomplete or improperly reported evidence could lead to the denial of your application, and your EB5 visa Lawyer from George & Marzialo will have the answers and guidance you need.

Form I-829 Determines the Success or Failure of Your Application

Form I-829 is the Petition by the Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status. To file this form, the applicant must:

Carefully read and understand the practical implications of the instructions for Form I-829
Complete and sign their name on the form
Pay any applicable filing fees
Provide with the application all necessary evidence and supporting documentation
Potentially complete an interview

The EB5 process, in addition to the I-829, has been impacted by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. When you first receive conditional permanent resident status through the EB5 program, your status is only valid for two years and generally cannot be renewed. Instead, you will need to apply to remove the conditions on your permanent resident status within the 90-day period prior to the second anniversary of when you first obtained permanent resident status.

Alternatively, you can renew within the 90-day period before the second anniversary of being admitted into the U.S. as a conditional permanent resident. Failure to do so can result in the loss of your lawful status.

Eligibility under the EB5 program is provided for those individuals who were granted conditional permanent resident status as an investor. To support efficiency in your application, it is helpful to include your conditional permanent resident spouse and any children in your petition. Failure to do so can require the time-consuming process of having them file their own petition separately. Knowing information like this is why having an EB5 visa Lawyer assisting you can be essential to your success.

Recent Federal Law Changes Could Impact Your Application

If you are planning to begin your EB5 investor visa application, it is important to know that the program enacted in 1992 has since changed. As explained by USCIS, on March 15 of 2022, President Biden signed Public Law 117-113, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act as a portion of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Through this new law, the requirements for the EB5 immigrant visa category and the Regional Center Program have changed.

Even with the change in requirements, immigrant visas are authorized through the Regional Center Program through the 30th of September, 2027. Determining how these changes might impact your future or even current application requires a thorough understanding of the prior process, and how the changes to the law will change it.

An EB5 visa Lawyer from George & Marzialo, helps investors realize their U.S. residency and business goals and is here to consult with you to determine how the changes to the EB5 immigrant visa category might impact the success of your application.

Some of the Regional Center compliance changes and requirements that our EB5 visa Lawyer will help you navigate include:

Systems to track I-828 filings, approvals, RFEs, etc.
Systems to provide for the monitoring of job creation
Management of material changes to the program
Systems to provide for the tracking of condition removal dates and age-out dates for the children of investors
Effective management of delays with jobs
Creation of systems to monitor the info and documents needed to prepare I-829 condition removal petitions
The preparation and filing of regional center annual statements
Advice on regional center best practices

The complexities of the EB5 investor visa application process have been magnified by the recent changes, underlining the value of the informed, up-to-date advocacy that you can get from an EB5 visa Lawyer at George & Marzialo.

We Can Collaborate with Your Business Lawyer to Provide EB5 Specialty Services

Oftentimes, foreign investors create jobs in the U.S. through the establishment of enterprises that already have Lawyers helping with their business. While their Lawyer might be one of the best in the field for business matters, it is important to remember that Lawyers have different focuses, and immigration law is worlds apart from business law. In the same way a person would not go to a foot doctor for a hand problem, to achieve the best results on an EB-5 visa application, it is best to work with an EB5 visa Lawyer with a proven track record of success.

The services that we offer for clients with their own lawyers and agents include:

Third-Party Review: Your lawyer prepares your EB5 petition and remains your sole point of contact; we simply review the application and apply our knowledge to support their performance on your behalf as our engagement letter is directly with your lawyer.
Direct EB-5 Application: An EB5 visa Lawyer from our firm can engage directly with you as the investor and provide your lawyer with all necessary documentation while they handle your I-485 and other related immigration work.
Additional Services: Our firm can handle the litigation of delayed or denied petitions or other immigration-related needs that arise.

At George & Marzialo, we also advise developers concerning new regional centers. We understand that your Lawyer-client relationship is special, and you can decide whether to have us work with you, or directly with your Lawyer. Our immigration Lawyers have been where you are and know what to do in support of your EB-5 application, and also when to inform you of other opportunities that might be available to better aid your immigration goals.

Our EB5 Visa Lawyers Will Litigate an EB-5 Application on Your Behalf

In some instances, despite the best evidence and qualifying investment, applications are still denied. In other cases, applications are improperly delayed. Both situations have the potential of causing your business very real economic loss and other opportunity costs. George & Marzialo will step into your shoes and handle the entirety of the litigation process on your behalf. An EB5 visa Lawyer at our firm will apply years of in-court experience to advocate for your best interests as well as the most effective and efficient approval of your EB-5 application.

The EB2 Visa is a Better Option in Some Situations

One of the key values offered by your experienced immigration Lawyer from George & Marzialo is our broad experience helping investors and skilled professionals achieve their U.S. residency goals through a variety of options. For some foreign investors, the EB2 visa program is a more appropriate option with a greater likelihood of success. The EB2 requires that you make a “substantial investment” in a business, meaning you will take at least half ownership of the business.

The minimum amount associated with the EB2 is often significantly lower than the requirements of the EB5 investor visa. However, the EB2 provides no immigration benefits. Instead, it provides what basically amounts to visitation rights while the EB5 visa results in a green card and permanent residency.

Discuss Your Options with an EB5 Visa Lawyer from George & Marzialo

Effectively applying current law to your EB5 investor visa application will determine whether or not you pass the careful scrutiny of the USCIS and other assessors involved in the process. Achieving a green card via an EB5 visa allows persons creating economic growth, and their families, a path to permanent residency in the U.S. Determining how to best frame your application, and what factors to highlight, is impossible to know unless you have been through the process before… like we have been.

The EB5 lawyers at George & Marzialo have been there and after realizing our immigration goals by coming to the U.S. and starting a successful immigration law firm, we have dedicated our time to helping others like you do the same. Contact our firm to schedule your initial consultation so an EB5 visa Lawyer can start building the best EB-5 investor visa application possible to support your U.S. residency and business dreams.