us investor visas program (eb-5 visas) and immigration attorney services in houston, texas

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

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Houston Business Litigation and Employment Law attorney Lee Solomon offers comprehensive business planning, employment law, business law and litigation and immigration services to corporate clients Throughout Texas and across the United States at www.thesolomonlawfirm.com. 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 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.

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Page 1: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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

EB-5 Visas

Page 2: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

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.

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EB-5 Visas

Page 3: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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.

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» 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.

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Page 4: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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.

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» 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.

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

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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.

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Page 6: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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.

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Page 7: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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.”

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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.

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Page 8: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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.

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» 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.

Page 9: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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), orRestructuring 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), orExpanding 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).

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Page 10: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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.

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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.

Page 11: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

Some of the advantages of the Pilot Program include:»

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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, andThis 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), andThe 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, andThe 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.

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Page 12: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

Identifying Investment Opportunities»

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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.

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Page 13: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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.

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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.

Page 14: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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.

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» 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.

Page 15: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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.

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» 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.

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Page 16: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

Proving the Source of the Investment»

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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.

Page 17: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

Filing the Application»

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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.

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Page 18: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

Texas Immigration Attorneys»

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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.

Page 19: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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.

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» 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.

Page 20: US Investor Visas Program (EB-5 Visas) And Immigration Attorney Services In Houston, Texas

www.thesolomonlawfirm.com

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