Any hope on GC - Investor ?

GCdreamer2006

Registered Users (C)
I am wondering whether the below could be a solid hope for some of us ?
Let's say you currently have a house/office mortgage in the US, curently estimated in 500,000.00. In my case I have my own LLC company already which operates in my home office. Then if you have about 100,000 in cash, I am wondering whether we apply for the EB-5 ? Perhaps we could even start partnership with friends ? It just sounds so easy to be true,but if that is the case, we should take advantage of the situation before someone closes the door on this one !


http://shusterman.com/aila-ppt.html


2. Green Cards through Investment in Approximately One Year
One of the fastest ways to secure permanent residence in the United States is through an investment in a "Regional Center" program.
While the waiting times for persons in the family-based categories range from 5 to 22 years, and those in the employment-based categories continue to retrogress, the EB-5 investor category is becoming more and more of an attractive option.

The EB-5 investor category has been "current" (no backlog) since its inception in 1990. Many people assume that this is a category for millionaires only or that they will have to quit their jobs and establish a business enterprise with 10 employees in order to qualify.

Neither of these common misconceptions is true.

In the mid-1990s, the INS created the Regional Center investment program which is ideal for inactive investors, retirees and other potential immigrants due mainly to the "indirect employment" feature of the program. The investor may be a "limited partner" and 10 employees may be hired by the general partner under the less restrictive "indirect employment creation" clause which allows the investor to qualify for a green card without personally hiring 10 persons. The investor need not even reside in the same part of the U.S. where the investment is located.

For example, the investor can place $500,000 in a real estate limited partnership. The money invested may either be the investor's own funds or may be in the form of a loan or a gift.

After the investor completes a thorough business and financial due diligence analysis of the viability of the business opportunity, the investment is made and an EB-5 petition is submitted to the CIS. The processing time from submission to approval averages only three months.

Once the petition is approved, if the investor resides abroad, he applies for a green card at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in his country. If he resides in the U.S., he applies for adjustment of status. In either case, the average processing is approximately nine months.

As in a marriage case, the green card is conditional and expires in two years. About three months before the expiration of the two-year period, the investor must submit a petition to the CIS to confirm that the funds are still in place and the employment requirement has been maintained. After verifying this, the CIS issues the investor permanent residence status.

All in all, the entire process takes approximately 3 1/2 to 4 years. Once an investor has a permanent green card, he is free to sell his stake in the investment if he wishes.

As with other U.S. immigration visas, investors need to take into account U.S. and foreign tax and other business and personal planning considerations.

We link to a list of regional centers approved by the Immigration Service as well as to the web sites of regional centers located in California, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Washington State from the navigation bar near the top of our home page at
 
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I can't help you with your particular question, but I can tell you that we have just had our EB5 application approved. (We are in the UK), It took exactly six months as there are a lot more people going down this line now.
We have also just heard that Congress has approved the Continuing Resolution Bill (necessary for the Government to continue to function) which contains a number of items, including an extension to the EB-5 Visa Program until 6 March 2009. This gives ample time for the 5 year renewal Bill to be passed, so the EB-5 Regional Center program continues uninterrupted.
We have invested in the American Life Marriot Courtyard (618 2nd Ave, Seattle) over a year ago now. Our application was submitted on the 28th March 08 and approved on the 30th September 08. We still have to have medicals and an interview, expected to take 3-5 months approx. before we posess our conditional GC and can leave to settle in the States.
Obviously we have no experience of other types of visa's, and it was not easy, or too good to be true, we had a lot of difficulties prior to our application going in. The EB5 is known as the fast track and is usually obtainable in about a year. (The conditional green card is issued and as above requires the investment to remain in place and 10 jobs created, after 21 months further application is required to have the conditions lifted, so yes, 3 years to get a full GC)
Good luck what ever you decide.
 
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