US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And
Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

EB-5 Visas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) - Immigration Lawyers/Attorneys
in Houston, Texas
» The United States has investor visa programs that allow people who live
in other countries to invest in a business in America and thereby receive
permanent resident (also known as “green card”) status in the United
States for the investor and the investor’s immediate family members for a
period of two years, renewable in accordance with the terms of
whichever investor visa is obtained.
» The focus of this article is on one of these types of visas, the EB-5 investor
visa.

EB-5 Visas


» While people who live in certain treaty countries have more than one
option available when considering a green card investment in America,
the EB-5 visa is the only investment option to obtain green card status for
those who live in non-treaty countries such as China.
» If the application is approved, visas are issued and the investor, with
immediate family members who are included in the application, must
move to America within six months whereupon they will receive their two
year green cards.
» In the 90 day period before the two year green cards will expire, the
investor must file documents to prove that the requirements of the
investor visa program were met in order to receive ten year green cards
for the investor and accompanying family members.
» Under the EB-5 investor visa program, even children of investors who
marry or turn age 21 are still eligible to receive their ten year green
cards.


» Finally, after the investor and accompanying family members have
resided in the United States for at least five years, they can apply to
become citizens of the United States, or they can decide to remain green
card holders by renewing their green card every ten years after the first
one is issued to them.
» There are, however, certain requirements for actually living in the United
States that must be met in order to be eligible to apply for U.S.
Citizenship, or to even retain or renew a green card.


Basic Requirements of the Investment
» The EB-5 investor visa program has two options available to investors: the
Regular Program and the Pilot Program. No matter which program is
chosen by an investor, the basic requirements are the same.
» First, the investment must be in a new commercial enterprise in which
the investor has at least a policy-making role.
» Next, the investment must be at least one million dollars, or half a million
dollars if the investment is made in a qualifying targeted area where job
creation is desired.
» Finally, the investment must benefit the U.S. economy, and it must create
at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers.


A Loan is not an Investment
» Those who apply for an investor visa are usually experienced in business,
because that is how they earned enough money to make the required
investment.
» It is important for even experienced business owners to understand,
however, that an investment means an actual contribution of capital to
the business.


» Therefore, by its very nature of being an investment, it comes with the
risk of losing all or part of the investment. To further expand on this
point, in order to qualify for the investor visa, there must be an actual
“investment.”
» Therefore, just making a loan to a new business enterprise does not
qualify. Similarly, no other debt arrangement with the new commercial
enterprise will qualify as an investment.
» If the investment is made through a note signed by the investor, the note
must have no escape clauses and the investor must be clearly obligated to
make all of the required payments pursuant to the note.
» While the statute allows an investor to be in the process of investing, the
USCIS, which reviews and approves or denies applications, has required
that the entire investment be in place before the application is filed for an
investor visa.


» In other words, no matter how the investment is structured, the investor
must be at risk of losing all or part of the investment in order to qualify
for the investor visa.
» Therefore, as with any other investment, a person would be wise not to
invest at all through the investor visa program if they could not withstand
the loss of their entire investment.


Regular Program or Pilot Program
Regular Program. Under the Regular Program, an investor can meet the
requirements of the investor visa program by:
» Establishing their own new commercial enterprise that creates at least ten
U.S. jobs (not including the investor and family members, which can be very
difficult to do when someone has just arrived in America and may not be
fluent in English or knowledgeable about how to start and run a business in
America), or
» Restructuring and reorganizing an existing business (though this has proved
to be an exceptionally difficult undertaking, with only one such plan having
been approved according to our most recent research), or
» Expanding an existing business entity (but this requires an expansion of the
net worth of the business by at least 40 percent, which may require the
creation of more than ten U.S. jobs, plus the larger the business is, the more
difficult it will be to increase its net worth by 40 percent).


» In addition, the investor must have more than a passive role in the new
commercial enterprise. Specifically, the investor must be involved in
managing the business, which means either involvement in day-to-day
managerial control, or management through policy formulation.
» Pilot Program. Because of the difficulties that are inherent in the Regular
Program, many investors have chosen to invest through the Pilot
Program.
» This is a temporary program that was started in 1993, but it has been
renewed several times, with the current renewal taking it to September
30, 2012.


Some of the advantages of the Pilot Program include:
» The required ten or more jobs can be created directly or indirectly by the new
commercial enterprise in which the investor makes an investment, which is also true
of the Regular Program, but it is usually easier to accomplish through the Pilot
Program, and
» This program allows the creation and government certification of regional centers
that help create jobs in targeted employment areas (rural areas and areas that have
experienced high unemployment as defined by the statute that created the pilot
program), and
» The requirement that the investor be involved in the management of the business
can be met if the investor is a limited partner in a limited partnership (so long as
other requirements are met; it is not sufficient to merely have the title of limited
partner), which is how the typical regional center is set up under the Pilot
Program. In a limited partnership, the general partner is usually an American
business or a person who manages the new commercial enterprise with the required
management support and involvement from the limited partners, and
The investor is not required to live where the regional center is located or where the
» investment is made. In other words, the investor can live anywhere in America, no
matter where the regional center or their investment might be located or made.


Identifying Investment Opportunities
» There are undoubtedly thousands of investment opportunities in America
that could satisfy the requirements of the EB-5 investor visa program.
» Therefore, one problem faced by a prospective investor who lives in
another country is how to identify which investment opportunity is the
best fit for that investor.
» By default, many investors opt for an investment through the Pilot
Program, because the approved regional centers for the investor program
are limited in number and readily identifiable.


» Investing through the Pilot Program makes sense for many investors, but
a successful business person in another country may want to consider
whether their business expertise that helped them build a successful
business in their home country could be used to start or help grow a
similar business in America, creating either the required number of jobs in
a new business or the required increase in net worth and creation of jobs
in an existing business through the Regular Program.
» Identifying an investment that would qualify for the Regular Program
could probably be accomplished only if the investor has family or friends
in America who can help with the identification of a good investment
opportunity.
» The investor should then insist on being provided business plans and
audited financial statements before even considering investing in such an
opportunity.


» Meeting with the owner of an existing business, or with the person with
whom a new commercial enterprise would be started if an investment is
made, would also be important.
» If people are going to be in business together in a Regular Program
investment, they need to do what they can to ensure that they will be
able to work together to meet the requirements of the EB-5 investor visa
program.


» Even choosing among the more limited number of regional center
investments that are available through the Pilot Program requires careful
thought and action by an investor.
» Success on previous projects by a regional center does not guarantee
success with future projects, which is another way of saying that there
will be risk no matter which investment choice might be made.
» There are companies that claim they have investigated each of the
certified regional centers, and they are willing to make that information
available to prospective investors.
» Relying on such information may well reduce the risk for an investor, but
it will not eliminate the risk. In the end, therefore, each investor would be
wise to carefully weigh all information available about a prospective
investment and make a decision based on the investor’s own judgment.


Proving the Source of the Investment
» The investor must prove that the money used for capital in the new
commercial enterprise was obtained legally.
» Therefore, all tax returns filed anywhere in the world for the previous
five years must be presented with the application for an investor visa.
» This includes both business and personal tax returns. If there are other
sources of capital, they must also be included with the application.


Filing the Application
» Filing an application for an investor visa can be a daunting process, but
that is just the beginning.
» There are many things that the investor must do after the application is
approved in order to be eligible to obtain a ten year green card at the
expiration of the initial two year green card. If the investor’s intention is
to become a U.S. citizen, there are even more requirements to be met.
» An investor should therefore seek help from an immigration attorney who
can help guide them through this arduous process.
» The investor would be wise to ensure that the immigration lawyer is also
experienced in business, because business expertise will be needed
whether the investor chooses to invest through the Regular Program or
the Pilot Program.


Texas Immigration Attorneys
» Immigration law is complex, confusing and constantly changing. Unless
you are aware of the potential opportunities and pitfalls in the law,
dealing with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service
(USCIS) can be a long, frustrating process.
» Applications are routinely denied for minor errors or omissions in the
large amount of required paperwork. This is why so many people rely
upon the services of a skilled immigration law attorney.


» To learn more about immigration law, please review the general
information we have provided.
To speak with an experienced immigration attorney, please
contact the Houston immigration law attorneys at The Solomon Firm, P.C. today.
» Call for a free telephone consultation and if appropriate a free office
consultation where we can obtain the details necessary to evaluate and
handle your case.


CONTACT THE SOLOMON LAW FIRM, P.C.
Main Office
510 Bering Drive, Suite 300
Houston, Texas 77057
Toll Free 888.777.6391
Fax to 713.358.5513


US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

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US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas