I don't have enough money to start EB-5 process, but I do have a relative who can act as my sponsor. Is it possible that it's me immigrating but it's him giving all the money for the process? Will they look for my own earnings for the last *** years, or for my sponsor's in this case?
Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, P.C.
EB-5 Eligibility with a sponsor
- Thread starter Sorento
- Start date
You may accept a "gift" and invest that money or you may take out a loan and invest that money. HOWEVER, most Regional Centers only accept someone who qualifies under particular SEC regulations and taking a loan may not be acceptable to them.
Investing on one's own requires a showing of at least 10 full-time permanent jobs for qualifying employees, all on the books as direct employees of the alien investor IF you are not affiliated with a Regional Center.
In addition, the source of the "gifted" or "loaned" funds must be shown and be completely legal.
There are additional cots involved beyond the minimum amount of the investment.
I agree with big joe, because you do need to be a qualified investor for the regional centers. However, as I've posted earlier, you can do much better by buying an existing gas station or health club (or 2) with 1 million down and 1.5 to 2 million in loans, to easily qualify for the 10 employee requirement and also have a significant amount of positive cash flow that you simply won't get with the regional centers. Most gas stations or convenience stores easily get 150,000 to 400,000 dollars of positive cash flow each year, and with a combined 2.5 million dollars to begin with, it doesn't take a genius to end up with at least 1.4 million in equity in 2 years AFTER payroll and living a comfortable life.
What big joe has failed to mention is that the 10 full time jobs are required at the END of 2 years, and any businessman with a million dollars in cash and 2 million in loans can expand quite easily to meet and exceed the eb5 investor requirements by the end of 2 years.
What big joe has failed to mention is that the 10 full time jobs are required at the END of 2 years, and any businessman with a million dollars in cash and 2 million in loans can expand quite easily to meet and exceed the eb5 investor requirements by the end of 2 years.
In order to include a business that you purchase, you have to either, expand it to 140%, or preserve a failing business, or restructure it into something new.
How many gas stations would it take to achieve 10 full time permanent employees? They usually can get by with one person per shift. IF it is open 24 hrs, 7 days a week, that is 3 full time positions plus 3 shifts per days on the other 2 days per week.
Please explain how this "mom and pop" type of operation could qualify for EB-5.
A liquor store is even more dubious because it cannot be a 24 hr, 7 day per week operation to begin with.
Also, as for the showing of evidence in order to lift conditions, it really can be a period longer than 2 years--explained below. IF you do not have the required number of employees on the books upon filing, you must submit a credible, comprehensive business plan that demonstrates the realistic need for the required number of employees.
One can start investing before filing the I-526, then it may take 6 months to get a decision, then it may take another 6 months to adjust status inside the U.S. OR to obtain an Immigrant Visa at a Consulate (once getting the IV, you can take up to another 6 months to enter the U.S.). Only once the investor gets the Conditional LPR status does the 2 year period start ticking. The time from filing the I-526 to presenting evidence of the required capital investment and required number of full time permanent employees could be 3 1/2 years or a little longer. The investment can start before filing the I-526 so more time can be worked into your business plan.
How many "mom and pop" operations does it take to qualify for an EB-5? The world may never know.....
The alien investor, the spouse, the sons and daughters DO NOT COUNT AS EMPLOYEES.
No illegal aliens count. No non-immigrant workers count.
PART TIME JOBS DO NOT COUNT.
YOU CANNOT ADD TOGETHER ANY PART-TIME JOBS TO EQUAL A FULL-TIME JOB.
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...toid=facb83453d4a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD
Hi Joe, you're wrong
2 or more Part time jobs DO count as a full time if they combine to make up 35 or more work hours per week.
A typical gas station needs at least 5 employees (3 on the counter and 2 for weekend relief), and the fast food in most gas stations (i.e. Subway, McDonalds, KFC, etc.) need at least 3 full time employees. What most immigrants do is buy 1 or even 2 gas stations or convenience stores or liquor stores to begin with and then expand the business by starting or buying one or 2 more businesses during the course of the 2 years. Due to the positive cash flow of at least 150,000 to $400,000 a year that every gas station I've sold has brought in, (and I've seen gas stations with positive cash flow of even upwards of $500,000 a year), it doesn't take a genius to save enough money to meet and exceed the 10 employee requirement laid down by USCIS by expanding the business through acquisitions or start up of more businesses.
I've done this long enough to know what works best for the investor. Health clubs, skating rinks, gas stations, etc. are solid investments for the owner operator who wishes to expand rapidly.
Can you show me any Regional Center that realistically offers a minimum of 15% annual return each year?
Hi Joe, you're wrong
2 or more Part time jobs DO count as a full time if they combine to make up 35 or more work hours per week.
A typical gas station needs at least 5 employees (3 on the counter and 2 for weekend relief), and the fast food in most gas stations (i.e. Subway, McDonalds, KFC, etc.) need at least 3 full time employees. What most immigrants do is buy 1 or even 2 gas stations or convenience stores or liquor stores to begin with and then expand the business by starting or buying one or 2 more businesses during the course of the 2 years. Due to the positive cash flow of at least 150,000 to $400,000 a year that every gas station I've sold has brought in, (and I've seen gas stations with positive cash flow of even upwards of $500,000 a year), it doesn't take a genius to save enough money to meet and exceed the 10 employee requirement laid down by USCIS by expanding the business through acquisitions or start up of more businesses.
I've done this long enough to know what works best for the investor. Health clubs, skating rinks, gas stations, etc. are solid investments for the owner operator who wishes to expand rapidly.
Can you show me any Regional Center that realistically offers a minimum of 15% annual return each year?
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...toid=facb83453d4a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD
Hi Joe, you're wrong
2 or more Part time jobs DO count as a full time if they combine to make up 35 or more work hours per week.
A typical gas station needs at least 5 employees (3 on the counter and 2 for weekend relief), and the fast food in most gas stations (i.e. Subway, McDonalds, KFC, etc.) need at least 3 full time employees. What most immigrants do is buy 1 or even 2 gas stations or convenience stores or liquor stores to begin with and then expand the business by starting or buying one or 2 more businesses during the course of the 2 years. Due to the positive cash flow of at least 150,000 to $400,000 a year that every gas station I've sold has brought in, (and I've seen gas stations with positive cash flow of even upwards of $500,000 a year), it doesn't take a genius to save enough money to meet and exceed the 10 employee requirement laid down by USCIS by expanding the business through acquisitions or start up of more businesses.
I've done this long enough to know what works best for the investor. Health clubs, skating rinks, gas stations, etc. are solid investments for the owner operator who wishes to expand rapidly.
Can you show me any Regional Center that realistically offers a minimum of 15% annual return each year?
NO, you are dead wrong on that. Part time jobs cannot be combined to equal a full time job for EB-5 purposes.
8 CFR 204.6 (e) Definitions.
Full-time employment means employment of a qualifying employee by the new commercial enterprise in a position that requires a minimum of 35 working hours per week. In the case of the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, “full-time employment” also means employment of a qualifying employee in a position that has been created indirectly through revenues generated from increased exports resulting from the Pilot Program that requires a minimum of 35 working hours per week. A job-sharing arrangement whereby two or more qualifying employees share a full-time position shall count as full-time employment provided the hourly requirement per week is met. This definition shall not include combinations of part-time positions even if, when combined, such positions meet the hourly requirement per week.
You do not understand what qualifies as full time employment. Please stop posting incorrect information. There are only just so many prime locations left to start up a new property as you describe. One cannot simply buy one and count jobs that already existed.
Consider the gas station example:
There are 24 hrs in a day. In order to cover the other 3 shifts on 2 days only equals 48 hrs and in a confined period it is not possible to come up with even one actual full time position that could entail a "job sharing arrangement" because one person could not work a full time position in that confined period so those shifts must be filled by part-time employees. Even if one person worked 2 either double shifts or split shifts, that would only be 32 hrs.
Diversification is key but the fundamental flaws need correction in order to make it work.
Also throw out the owner-operator as an employee along with his or her family in any calculation of full time jobs.
8 CFR 204.6
(j) Initial evidence to accompany petition. ....
(4) Job creation —(i) General. To show that a new commercial enterprise will create not fewer than ten (10) full-time positions for qualifying employees, the petition must be accompanied by:
(A) Documentation consisting of photocopies of relevant tax records, Form I–9, or other similar documents for ten (10) qualifying employees, if such employees have already been hired following the establishment of the new commercial enterprise; or
(B) A copy of a comprehensive business plan showing that, due to the nature and projected size of the new commercial enterprise, the need for not fewer than ten (10) qualifying employees will result, including approximate dates, within the next two years, and when such employees will be hired.
http://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/intdec/vol22/3362.pdf
Matter of Ho, 22 I & N Dec. 206 (AAO 1998) holds in part:
(5) In order to demonstrate that the new commercial enterprise will create not fewer than 10 full-time positions, the petitioner must either provide evidence that the new commercial enterprise has created such positions or furnish a comprehensive, detailed, and credible business plan demonstrating the need for the positions and the schedule for hiring the employees.
And further explains and justifies this position in this way:
"A comprehensive business plan as contemplated by the regulations should contain, at a minimum, a description of the business, its products and/or services, and its objectives. The plan should contain a market analysis, including the names of competing businesses and their relative strengths and weaknesses, a comparison of the competition’s products and pricing structures, and a description of the target market/prospective customers of the new commercial enterprise. The plan should list the required permits and licenses obtained. If applicable, it should describe the manufacturing or production process, the materials required, and the supply sources. The plan should detail any contracts executed for the supply of materials and/or the distribution of products. It should discuss the marketing strategy of the business, including pricing, advertising, and servicing. The plan should set forth the business’s organizational structure and its personnel’s experience. It should explain the business’s
staffing requirements and contain a timetable for hiring, as well as job descriptions for all positions. It should contain sales, cost, and income projections and detail the bases therefor. Most importantly, the business plan must be credible.
Certainly no astute investor would place half a million or a million dollars into a business that he had not thoroughly researched. Creating a comprehensive business plan as described above is normal practice for any businessman seeking to operate a viable business. Without knowing whether a business is feasible and has the potential for long-term survival, neither the petitioner nor the Service can reasonably conclude that it will create permanent, full-time employment. It is not too onerous to ask a petitioner who has not yet met the employment-creation requirement to submit to the Service a real business plan. Other administrative agencies, such as the Small Business Administration, and private financial institutions routinely require the submission of detailed business plans before extending loans to businesses. Permanent resident status is no less significant a matter than a loan." (At p. 213)
Did you actually read the information at the link you posted? It specifically excludes "part-time jobs being added together".
"A qualified employee is a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or other immigrant authorized to work in the United States. The individual may be a conditional resident, an asylee, a refugee, or a person residing in the United States under suspension of deportation. This definition does not include the immigrant investor; his or her spouse, sons, or daughters; or any foreign national in any nonimmigrant status (such as an H-1B visa holder) or who is not authorized to work in the United States.
Full-time employment means employment of a qualifying employee by the new commercial enterprise in a position that requires a minimum of 35 working hours per week. In the case of the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, "full-time employment" also means employment of a qualifying employee in a position that has been created indirectly from investments associated with the Pilot Program.
A job-sharing arrangement whereby two or more qualifying employees share a full-time position will count as full-time employment provided the hourly requirement per week is met. This definition does not include combinations of part-time positions or full-time equivalents even if, when combined, the positions meet the hourly requirement per week. The position must be permanent, full-time and constant. The two qualified employees sharing the job must be permanent and share the associated benefits normally related to any permanent, full-time position, including payment of both workman’s compensation and unemployment premiums for the position by the employer."
Lastly, NO Regional Center is allowed to specify any particular return on investment as no "redemption agreement" is legal under EB-5. ALL EB-5 investments must be "at risk" whether it is in a RC or as a stand-alone investment.
Last edited by a moderator:
Joe,
I actually do have a solid track record. I sell 8-12 businesses a year, and can show I've helped 29 investors successfully obtain the immigrant visas as independent owner operators, and all of my clients are willing to provide references that I've helped them buy very profitable businesses and guided them in expansion of their businesses. Additionally, I've even helped non-immigrant investors successfully expand their portfolios.
What is YOUR record?
Mohammed
I actually do have a solid track record. I sell 8-12 businesses a year, and can show I've helped 29 investors successfully obtain the immigrant visas as independent owner operators, and all of my clients are willing to provide references that I've helped them buy very profitable businesses and guided them in expansion of their businesses. Additionally, I've even helped non-immigrant investors successfully expand their portfolios.
What is YOUR record?
Mohammed