EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE
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C hinese I nvestor A voids EB-5 V isa
R etrogression U sing C ross -C hargeability
In less than two years, EB-5 investors Michael Guo and his Malaysian wife got conditional green cards.
He is happy that his meticulous due-diligence process paid off, giving his family greater educational
and career opportunities in America.
By Fang Tian, EB5 Investors Magazine Staff
M
ichael Guo, a Chinese native who applied
for EB-5 a f ter t he v i sa ret rog ression
started, is one of few mainland China-
born investors who managed to go through the EB-5
process without any delays. Because he is married
to a Malaysian, Guo was able to bypass the Chinese
EB-5 visa back log and receive his green card 22
months after submitting his application. However, career prospects for a foreigner in the U.S.
didn’t look as promising as Guo expected. In order
to stay and work in the U.S. after graduation, he had
to find a company that could not only offer him a
job, but was willing to sponsor him for a work visa.
Th a n k s t o h i s w i fe, Ga o c ou ld appl y for E B-5
usi ng cross-chargeabi l it y, a feature i n t he U.S.
immigration system that allows a petitioner to use
a spouse’s country of birth that has visa number
availability. Unlike China, Malaysia has no EB-5
back log. Guo was able to dodge the waiting-line
bullet of visa retrogression. “My pa rent s lea r ned about EB-5 t hroug h t hei r
friends who immigrated to the U.S. that way,” Guo
said. “Although we were not sure how many years
we had to wait, we knew we had to do it.”
The couple met in graduate school in the United
States, fell in love and got married.
“Everything happened naturally,” said Gao.
THE START OF THE EB-5 JOURNEY
Guo’s EB-5 journey started before he met his soulmate.
He was mentally prepared for the backlog when he
started the EB-5 process but he didn’t let it deter him.
“I knew there was going to be a wait,” he said, “but I
still decided to give it a try.”
Guo came to the U.S. in 2012 as an international student
with a desire for a high-quality education. He was
admitted to the University of California, Los Angeles,
as a graduate student studying architecture. Although
challenging, he found the classes very fulfilling.
Guo and his parents felt t he urgenc y to pursue
other options.
L i k e e v e r y i n v e s t o r w h o s e t s a i l o n a n E B-5
adventure, Guo and his parents felt overwhelmed
by the EB-5 process and the many choices along the
way.
“There are tons of projects out there,” he said. “It is
hard to nail down the right one.”
Fortunately, Guo’s parents had friends who had
already completed the process successfully. Thanks
to recommendations from acquaintances, they were
able to narrow dow n their candidate pool to five
real estate projects. That’s where Guo’s professional
back g round ca me i nto play. A s a n arch itect ure
major trained in both China and the U.S., Guo knew
which projects stood a better chance of success.
“You have to understand what the game plan is,”
Guo sa id. “Some proje c t s a re hote l s. Some a re
resident ia l bui ldi ngs. Some are i n frast r ucture.
Every type has its own pros and cons.”