WR Immigration Director of Visa Consulting Charlie Oppenheim and Joey Barnett provide unique insights on the October EB-5 investor visa outlook. The team also covers the latest updates on the November Visa Bulletin. Watch below!
Chatting with Charlie Webinar: October EB-5 Investor Visa Outlook
Related Posts:
Can a Conditional Green Card Holder Marry a U.S. Citizen and Get a New Green Card in the U.S. Via Adjustment of Status When Investment Fails to Create Sufficient Jobs?
Short answer, yes. We just attended the adjustment interview while working with well-known EB-5 lawyer Tammy Fox-Isicoff to obtain an approval. In this case, the foreign national obtained conditional permanent residency through an EB-5 application that ultimately failed. Fortunately, she met a life partner, entered into a good faith marriage with her U.S. citizen husband, and intentionally did not file a Form I-829 so her immigrant status lapsed. Since the EB-5 program involves a two-step procedure of first getting a two-year conditional green card, the applicant has a lot of pressure to ensure adequate jobs are created when submitting the I-829 application to remove the conditional nature of the green card. This application must be filed during the 90-day window preceding the 24-month anniversary of the card issuance. If the requisite number of jobs have not been created, the I-829 application will ultimately be denied, and the applicant can be placed in removal or deportation proceedings. This deadline to file a Form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status causes grave concern for this group of people, and sadly, these facts are becoming more common due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and the contraction of the […]
Direct EB-5 Due Diligence: Buyer Beware (and Immigration Attorneys Be Cautious)
Authored by Joseph Barnett and Bernard Wolfsdorf, on behalf of AILA EB-5 Committee There has been a lot of recent interest from prospective immigrant investors in direct EB-5, including “pooled direct” investments. This is partially because the more popular EB-5 Regional Center program is waiting for reauthorization, and the (likely temporary) minimum investment requirement presently at $500,000 for job creation in a Targeted Employment Area (“TEA”).[1] As a result, the AILA EB-5 Committee would like to share their thoughts on specific issues related to the representation of direct EB-5 clients, as a high percentage of direct EB-5 cases appear to run into difficulties. Limited Scope of Representation. As lawyers, we can rely on outside professionals (such as accountants and business advisors) to provide advice in areas we are not competent to handle. Being a good immigration lawyer and advising clients regarding investor visas does not require that every lawyer handling these cases must be competent in the tax, business, and accounting work that is a critical part of the EB-5 framework. It is correct to state that EB-5 requires a team including the immigration lawyers, corporate lawyers, franchise lawyers, securities lawyer, business plan writer, accountant, banker, and the list goes […]
