2015 Presentation for San Gabriel Valley Realtors' Association (SVGRA) on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.

2.  You have a real estate client, he wants to come to the
United States, and he wants to stay here, maybe not
now, but he wants to eventually immigrate here. He
may or may not have his own company in China.
 The question is how does he do it? How can real
estate contribute to his desire to immigrate to the
U.S.? Is it part of his plan to immigrate or to finance
his project in the U.S. (commercial) and/or a result of
that desire to immigrate (residential)?

3. 1. EB-5
 - Traditional EB-5
 - Pilot Program – Regional Center
2. Intracompany Transfer (L-1/EB-1C)

4.  The Immigrant Investor Program, also known as “EB-5 Pilot
Program,” was created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S.
economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign
investors. Initially, these programs were by direct investment. Under
a pilot immigration program first enacted in 1992 certain EB-5 visas
also are set aside for investors in Regional Centers designated by U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) based on proposals for
promoting economic growth, utilizing both direct investment and
indirect investment. In either case, the immigrant investor obtains
permanent resident status through investment in the United States.
This program is currently scheduled to end on September 30, 2015, but
it will most likely be renewed by Congress, but may have important
changes

5.  1. Direct or Traditional EB-5 investment – Active
investment in Business
 2. Pilot Program – Regional Center – Passive
Investment in Project (ex. hotel, shopping center,
movie production)
Either EB-5 program, Investor receives:
 2 year conditional permanent resident (green card)
status.
 Must later apply for permanent green card status by
end of conditional period, then receives permanent
green card status.

6.  1. Personal investment of $500,000 or $1,000,000*
depending on location of investment.
◦ Target Employment Area or non-TEA
 2. Create 10 full time jobs. – Citizens, legal residents,
non-residents authorized to work (not related to
investor).
 3. Doesn’t require any previous connection between
background of investor and the investment.
 *USCIS has currently requested that the program
amounts increase to $800,000 and $1,200,000
respectively.

7.  1. Long processing times before obtaining
conditional status and then permanent green
card status
 2. For China investors – Additional 2 year
priority date waiting period before you can
file for conditional permanent resident status
– means if project is approved for EB-5
investment, must wait until priority date is
current before you can file for conditional
green card status

8.  Direct investment in own company
 Active role in business
 Hire employees directly for job creation

9.  Direct control of money through company
 Direct control over ability to obtain
permanent resident card
 Can operate business

10.  Because of length of time until receiving
permanent resident status, may have to
operate a business for 5-7 years (only
matters if losing money)

11.  Passive investment
 No role in business
 Regional Center project utilizes direct and indirect
employment for job creation

12.  Not required to involved in project – passive investor
 Job creation determination is made based on
economic model, not actual jobs, so if USCIS approves
project, then investor should be able to get green
card.

13.  Investment, so money at risk, no control if project
goes under
 If project does not follow its plans, can have green
card taken away by USCIS

14.  Traditional EB-5
◦ Direct investment in own business
◦ Active role in business
◦ Hire employees directly for job creation
 Regional Center EB-5
◦ Passive investment in project
◦ No role in business
◦ Regional Center project utilizes direct and indirect
employment for job creation

15.  Appeal of one model over the other depends
upon investor’s desire to control his
investment, and his risk assessment of a Pilot
program - Regional Center project vs.
traditional EB-5 project. Both carry risks.

16.  Intracompany transfer between parent foreign
company and U.S. subsidiary company
 L-1 visas for nonimmigrant
 E1-BC for immigrants

17.  1. Nonimmigrant – L-1 – transferred
executive for a maximum number of years, 6
or 7 years
◦ L1-A – Managers and executives
◦ L1-B – Professional managerial person (engineers,
accountants, etc.)
2. Immigrant – EB-1C - petition by U.S.
subsidiary for immigrant to obtain green card

18.  *U.S. subsidiary company must have been organized
in the U.S. for at least one year in the United States,
the company may petition for managers or executives
to obtain permanent resident status

19.  1. U.S. Company is owned at least 51% by foreign
company
 2. Manager/ executive transferred must have at least 1
year experience as manager/executive in parent company
within the last 3 years.
 3. Transferee must be working in subsidiary as manager
or executive (ex. 3 person subsidiary company unlikely to
qualify)
 4. Job and management experience should be related to
position in subsidiary.
 5. Subsidiary should have 7-8 employees of varying levels

20.  1. Setting up a subsidiary is less expensive
than investing in an EB-5 project, may only
need a few hundred thousand to start the
business
 2. Processing time to obtain non immigrant
visa or status (L-1) is 1 month to 4-5
months.
 3. Processing time to obtain permanent
resident status (EB-1C) may be up to 1 year.
 4. Fewer Employees to Hire (than for EB-5)

21.  1. Person being transferred must have been
shown to have worked in parent foreign
company for the required period of time as a
manager/executive.
 2. Work experience and/or educational
experience must be related to new position in
U.S. company.
 3. Generally more stringent regulation by
USCIS.

22.  Purely depends upon goals of the investor.
 Also possible to combine different programs.

23.  E-1/E-2 Treaty Trader/Treaty Investor
 F-1 Student
 H-1 Professional
 O-1 Extraordinary Ability
 P-1 Athlete/Entertainer

24.  E-1 Treaty Trader
◦ The E-1 nonimmigrant classification allows a national of
a treaty country (a country with which the United States
maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation) to be
admitted to the United States solely to engage in
international trade on his or her own behalf.
 E-2 Treaty Investor
◦ The E-2 nonimmigrant classification allows a national of
a treaty country (a country with which the United States
maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation) to be
admitted to the United States when investing a
substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business.

25.  Advantages:
◦ Can renew indefinitely so long as you have same
trade or investment.
 Disadvantages:
◦ Cannot be used to immigrate, nonimmigrant visa
only, must still find separate immigrant path
◦ Children no longer eligible as dependents when
reach age of 21