EB-5 Investment Immigration: Navigating the "Project Eligibility Checkpoint" for International Students Applying for EB-5 Visas
EB-5 Investment Immigration: Navigating the "Project Checkpoint" for International Students Applying for EB-5 Visas
Attorneys:Attorney Jeff Zhengquan Xie,Attorney Jiarui Yin,Attorney Qian Zhao,Attorney Haochun Ling, Xiang Xiao
Literally speaking, investment immigration means applying for U.S. immigration through investment. International students studying in the U.S. must pass two "checkpoints" to apply for EB-5 investment immigration. Yesterday we discussed the first checkpoint: the "Financial Checkpoint," and today we’ll focus on the second: the "Project Checkpoint."
Passing the "Financial Checkpoint" means an international student is eligible to apply for investment immigration. The "Project Checkpoint," however, determines whether the student can ultimately obtain U.S. permanent residency.
Clearly, this checkpoint is also crucial and deserves serious attention.
Buying a single house in the U.S. won’t qualify for EB-5 investment immigration. But what if someone buys multiple houses?
Probably not, or it would be extremely difficult. Why?
Because the original legislative intent behind Congress’s establishment of the EB-5 investment immigration law was to create 10 U.S. jobs through foreign investment in the U.S., and in return, grant the foreign investor and their family the opportunity to obtain permanent residency in the U.S.
Therefore, if a foreign national invests in the U.S. but the investment fails to create 10 jobs, it will not meet the requirements.
For example, buying a house in the U.S. might cost $1 million, but the house itself cannot create 10 jobs under any circumstances.
However, if you buy a house in the U.S. and use it to operate an elderly care center or a kindergarten, hiring 10 U.S. employees and maintaining the business, this would meet the EB-5 investment immigration project requirements.
Alternatively, if you buy multiple houses as mentioned earlier and rent them out, hiring 10 U.S. citizens to manage, maintain, and lease the properties, this might also satisfy the EB-5 project criteria.
Do you see the key here?
Simply spending money in the U.S. is not enough. The core requirement is that the invested funds must employ 10 U.S. workers within a specified period.
Investments like buying real estate in the U.S. can qualify as EB-5 projects as long as they have the potential to create jobs.
Such projects are directly operated by the EB-5 applicant themselves, so we refer to them as "direct investment" projects.
In addition to direct investment projects, there is another type called "Regional Center" projects.
Regional Center projects are currently the most popular EB-5 investment options, accounting for over 95% of all investment immigration projects on the market.
These projects are operated by the Regional Center, and the EB-5 applicant does not participate in direct operation or management.
A typical Regional Center project involves investments from many EB-5 investors. The law still requires each investor’s investment to create 10 jobs.
However, the 10 jobs required for such projects are "calculated jobs" by economists, known as "indirect jobs."
Furthermore, meeting the legal job creation requirements for numerous EB-5 investors is the responsibility of the Regional Center or the project operator—not the investors themselves.
This is because the project operator hires economists to calculate the indirect job numbers in advance, which determines how many EB-5 investors the project can accommodate.
If the project is successfully completed, the job creation requirement will be fulfilled, and the EB-5 investor will have no issues obtaining U.S. permanent residency.
If the project is abandoned or fails, it becomes uncertain whether the EB-5 investor can still get permanent residency.
That said, each case must be analyzed individually—an abandoned or failed project does not necessarily mean the investor has no chance of obtaining residency.
Currently, popular Regional Center projects fall into three categories: Targeted Employment Area (TEA) projects, rural projects, and infrastructure projects.
Infrastructure projects have very few investment quotas, and ready-made projects are rarely available.
TEA projects (high-unemployment area projects) are widely available on the market, but it is estimated that there are not many remaining quotas.
Rural projects are not as abundant currently, but due to their relatively more available immigration quotas, they are expected to become the mainstream project type in the future.
It is difficult to provide general guidance on which type of project to choose here. Retained clients of our firm receive necessary professional guidance.
How to select an investment project? It’s a complex process that requires professional investment advice.
Since EB-5 projects are located in the U.S., international students can conduct their own thorough research (commonly referred to as "doing homework") on potential projects.
Here are some kind reminders:
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Be extra cautious of projects claimed to be "government projects." Almost all EB-5 projects are private investment initiatives.
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Do not fully rely on Chinese promotional materials provided at domestic investment seminars. Carefully review the complete set of English legal documents for the project.
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Be wary of projects advertised as "USCIS-approved." Such promotions mislead investors into believing the project has no or minimal risk. Currently, there are no "approved" EB-5 projects on the market.
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Avoid projects that claim "low risk, high return," "zero risk," "insured by a certain company," or "money-back guarantee if unsuccessful"—claims that sound reassuring but are often unreliable.
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Exercise caution when project companies or intermediaries invite former or even current U.S. federal, state, or local government officials to promote projects in China. These officials bear no political or economic responsibility for the project.
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You are not obligated to choose a local project. Investing in any EB-5 project within the U.S. is eligible for investment immigration.
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Regardless of how you obtain the project information, international students in the U.S. should conduct on-site inspections of the project and the project operator. At the very least, you can verify whether the promoted project matches the descriptions provided to your family in China—seeing is believing, and firsthand verification is more reliable than hearsay.
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If you are unwilling or unable to conduct such verifications, you can send the project information to attorney@xielaw.com. While we may not assist with on-site inspections for every case, our over a decade of experience in this field allows us to provide analytical insights to help you make an informed decision.
In summary, if an international student has passed the "Financial Checkpoint" and successfully navigates the "Project Checkpoint," their EB-5 investment immigration application is essentially a success!
By the way, choosing an experienced immigration attorney is also very important for investment immigration, though it does not rise to the level of a "checkpoint." If you have any general questions about EB-5 investment immigration applications, including project selection, feel free to contact us at any time.
The above overview is prepared by XIE LAW OFFICES,LLC. to provide legal information to the Chinese community. It is primarily for academic discussion purposes and does not constitute legal advice on specific cases. If you already have legal representation, please consult your own attorney, who is familiar with the details of your case. Clients of Xie & Associates Law Firm, as well as readers who have not yet retained legal counsel, may contact Attorney Xie for specific legal questions. If you wish to reprint this document, please do so in full without any deletions, and clearly indicate the source.
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