(News and views from IBLF staff and attorneys)
Question Detail: Who is allowed to gift funds for an EB-5 investment? And where can these funds come from? For example, can the source of funds for an EB-5 investment be a gift from someone who is not my relative? Can this gift be from a business or investment fund?
Question Detail: I am looking for a securities lawyer that is well-versed in EB-5. I want to avoid the learning curve with my questions. What qualifications should a securities attorney have if I am hiring them specifically for EB-5 work? Will it be necessary to work with a securities attorney throughout the entire EB-5 process?
Question Detail: I am a senior at a university graduating in May 2015. My F-1 visa expires on May 15 and I have work starting on August 3. I filed for EB-5 and was notified last week that my I-526 petition was approved. My immigration consulting company in China suggests that I apply for OPT for now and apply for the I-485 afterwards, so I can secure work authorization by early August. But a U.S. immigration lawyer I consulted recommends that I apply for the I-485 immediately and that the OPT application will likely be rejected due to immigration intent. Between OPT and I-485 EAD, which one should I apply for now? My main priority is to get work authorization without any delay to work; the next priority is to get a green card; and the last priority is to go home and visit family in China during the summer.
Question Detail: My company intends to form an EB-5 regional center. In order to apply for a regional center, does my company need to have a minimum amount of capital? If yes, which kind of assets can be used as the capital for the regional center, apart from cash? Do we need to prove the source of our assets?
Question Detail: My friend owns a large firm in China that aggregates EB-5 investors. However, he can only accept an annual percentage from the regional center and not the admin fee. He offered me, a U.S. citizen, the admin fee in exchange for helping out with emails, arranging calls, etc. If I set up an LLC to accept this admin fee, do I need to be a registered broker-dealer? I am thinking I do not because I am not the regional center or the person aggregating the EB-5 investors. Also, if the EB-5 investor creates two escrow accounts, one for the EB-5 investment and one for the admin fee, can the admin fee be released from escrow directly to the LLC I set up? Or does it have to pass through the regional center first and then is passed to the LLC?
Question Detail: My family and I were approved at our EB-5 immigrant visa interview in Guangzhou, but the consulate has been processing our passports for over 1.5 months. I have checked with my attorney and every time he makes an inquiry, the consulate simply says they are still processing our passports. This had caused hardship financially for us, and academically for my child who was attending school in the United States. Is this consulate processing time normal? How can we find out what is causing the delay? Is there any way to expedite our documents?
Question Detail: I live in Brazil, but am currently visiting Canada on a temporary resident visa, which just expired. I do not want to go back to Brazil. After speaking with family, I am more interested in applying for EB-5 and moving permanently to the United States. How can I apply for EB-5 if I am out of status in another country? Will I have to go back to Brazil to apply?
Question Detail: Would I be I eligible for an EB-5 visa if I invest $1 million in a post Series A round startup? Also, would I be eligible if I invested and the startup got acquired one year later? Does this type of startup count as a new commercial enterprise?
Question Detail: I want to make an EB-5 investment. I know it is supposed to be at risk, but I really do not want to commit funds without some kind of security. I have read that some EB-5 investors purchase insurance from a third party on their investment. Can this actually be done? Would it violate the at risk requirement?
Question Detail: Our project involves a two-stage, well-defined early release from escrow, with all early released funds guaranteed by a highly credit-worthy affiliate of the project. We have been told that some EB-5 escrow agents/service providers may be unwilling to waive their underwriting criteria around early release, even if we satisfy the underlying risk through the guarantee. What escrow companies or banks do you have experience with that are flexible with early release when the offering contains non-escrow investor protections for the possibility of I-526 denial?
