12 Frequent Questions on the EB-5 Visa Answered by an Immigration Attorney
One of the most popular immigration visas is the EB-5 Investor Visa. This visa has many immigration benefits in the USA. In this video an immigration attorney answers the 12 most common immigration questions concerning the EB-5 Investor Visa.
Visit Freedom Immigration Website – https://freedomimmigrationusa.com/
In this video we answer the following EB-5 Investor Visa questions:
– What is the EB-5 Investor Visa?
– What are the EB-5 Visa requirements?
– How much does the EB-5 Visa cost?
– How long does the EB-5 process take?
– What does the Eb-5 Visa expedited project mean?
– Are the majority of EB-5 investments $500,000?
– Can an EB-5 Visa investment be a loan?
– Can a gift be the source of the EB-5 investment?
– What are the EB-5 Investor Visa advantages?
– Can a E-2 Visa be changed to a EB-5 Visa?
– How long can I be outside the USA with an EB-5 Investor Visa?
– Can my parents be derivatives on my EB-5 Visa petition?
DISCLAIMER
This video is intended for education purposes and should not be taken as immigration, legal or tax advice. You should consult with your financial and immigration professionals about your unique financial and immigration situation before acting on anything discussed in these videos. Freedomtax Accounting and Multiservices Inc., and Freedom Immigration International Inc. is providing educational content to help small business owners and individuals become more aware of certain issues and topics, but we cannot give blanket advice to a broad audience. Freedomtax Accounting and Multiservices Inc., nor Freedom Immigration International Inc. members cannot be held liable for any use or misuse of this content.
Carlos: Hello from Freedom Group. We are a group of four companies where we provide tax and accounting services, immigration services, real estate insurance and financial planning services. And in this video, we are bringing you very important information because we’re going to answer the 12 most common questions that people have concerning the EB-5 five investor visa for their US immigration process. And for that, we’re going to bring in our immigration attorney, Mr. Robert Montalvo. How are you, Roberto?
Robert: I’m good. How are you Carlos?
Carlos: We’re doing well. We’re doing very well. So, Roberto, you know that the EB-5 visa, one of the one of the most popular visas here at freedom, immigration, and I know that people have a lot of questions. And now we made a list of the 12 most common questions relating to the EB-5 investor visa. And to start off, what exactly is the EB-5 investor visa?
Robert: The EB-5 investor visa is a program that the US government created to stimulate the economy and have foreign investors bring substantial amounts of money and invested into the US and be able to obtain their green cards.
Carlos: So, it’s a way that the US made up so they can help the US economy by bringing in foreign investments.
Robert: Correct.
Carlos: Okay, and what are the requirements for the EB-5 visa?
Robert: Well, first, you have to find a project that qualifies, then you submit your petition. Once it’s approved, you get a two year green card. And then after those two years, you can remove the conditions and get your permanent tenure green card.
Carlos: Oh, good. And then obviously one of the most common questions that we get is how much does the EB-5 visa cost?
Robert: Well, the first part is the investment kind of visa, the investment for the visa has to be a minimum of $1 million, or $500,000. If it’s in a qualified area that is urban or has high unemployment. Besides that investment, the attorney’s fees are around $30,000. And then the government fees are $30, 675.
Carlos: Okay, so that’s a good point, because other people are still under the impression that the minimum investment needs to be like around a million dollars. But actually, you can get the EB-5 with $500,000.
Robert: Yeah, recently, they had raised limits, the 1.8 million and then 900,000 in the urban and high unemployment areas. But in June of 2021, there was a court case in California that brought those limits back down to 1 million and a half a million.
Carlos: Okay, so that’s, that’s good to know. Now, once an investor starts the EB-5 visa process, how long can they need? How long do they need to wait to get their green card?
Robert: Well, since COVID-19, processing times are a little unpredictable. But before the pandemic, the average time was about 14 months.
Carlos: Okay. But we do know that immigration does provide some kind of expedited process to make the EB-5 process faster.
Robert: For the EB-5, there’s not really an expedited process, but there are certain projects that the government can consider as expedited projects, if they’re in the public interest. Okay, they can be accelerated.
Carlos: So, there is EB-5, that may or may be a lot faster than the 14 months.
Robert: Yes, if they like if the business can help a public interest, then yes.
Carlos: Okay. Perfect. Now, the majority of our clients here at freedom, immigration that do the EB-5. Obviously, the thing there are worried about the most is the investment. How much do they need to invest? Is it 1 million? Is it 500,000? Or is the majority of the EB-5 visas $500,000 or more?
Robert: Well, yes, usually people look to invest $500,000 is the most common one we’ve seen.
Carlos: Okay, and then those $500,000 where does the money need to come from it be a loan?
Robert: Yes, it can be a loan before the EB-5 process. We’re not allowing loans, but now they can be as long as the loan is not insured by the project. It can’t be guaranteed.
Carlos: Okay, how about we recently had a client that was asking us can the 500,000 investment for the EB-5 visa come from a gift?
Robert: Yes, as long as you disclose it in the process, there’s no problem with the money coming for as a gift.
Carlos: Okay, perfect. So, putting the investment part aside, we do know that the EB-5 visa is a very good investment visa for US immigration. What are some of the advantages that the EB-5 visa has over other investment or business visas in US immigration?
Robert: Well, the biggest advantage is the fact that it’s a permanent visa. Most visas are temporary, you can be in the US for a couple of years at a time. But with the EB-5, you actually get a US residency, become a legal permanent resident, you get your green card, and then after five years of having a green card, you can even become a citizen.
Carlos: Okay, so the EB-5 can be a direct way of getting your US citizenship basically.
Robert: Correct.
Carlos: Okay, perfect. Now, we do have other clients here at Freedom Immigration, that they may not have the total capital to do the EB-5 visa, but they do have the capital available to do an EB two visa, and, sorry, an E-2 visa. And they usually ask us, “Can I start my immigration process with an E-2 visa and then change it to an EB-5 visa?”
Robert: Yes, you can start an E-2 visa with for substantial investment of around $100,000 or 250. And then you can increase it to half a million dollars as long as you need the job creation requirement of creating 10 full time employees.
Carlos: Okay, good. And then another common questions we get is once the EB-5 visa is approved, and people get their green card, obviously, they have interest and maybe family members in their countries. And they always ask that once I become a US resident via the EB-5 visa, how long can I leave the US for how long can I be out of the US with my EB-5 visa?
Robert: Generally, about six months is the maximum we recommend because if you stay for over a year, you will have to require a reentry permit to come back into the US. And the whole point of legal permanent residents getting your green card is you have to be a resident of the US; so, you must reside in the US.
Carlos: Okay.
Robert: So, we generally recommend at least half the year.
Carlos: Okay. And a lot of our EB-5 investor visa clients are federal immigration. They obviously have family members and they’re always wondering, well with my EB-5 visa, can I bring my parents and can I bring my children? What benefits are they going to have in the US? How does that work?
Robert: Well, unfortunately, you can bring your parents in. You can bring any children under 21 and your spouse, your children can attend school and your spouse can apply for a work permit when she’s here or easier.
Carlos: Okay, so if there’s an investor that wants to start an EB-5 investor visa process, what do they need to do?
Robert: Call Freedom Immigration at 407-910-4770.
Carlos: Perfect. So now you have answered the 12 most common questions relating to the EB-5 visa. Remember that you can call freedom immigration at 407-910-4770 and schedule your initial consultation with Roberto, our immigration attorney here at freedom immigration. I’m also going to place the link to their Freedom Immigration website in the description of this video. If you want more information about Freedom Immigration. Thank you for watching this video. God bless you bye.