EB5 Investors Magazine (English Edition) Volume 5, Issue 1 | Page 82

Costly Mistakes: How Inadmissibility Can Upset Your EB-5 Plans Options for investors when a past mistake puts a stop to their immigration dreams. By Steven D. Heller S o, you’re ready to invest in the American Dream. You’ve got the money and a squeaky clean transfer of funds from your personal accounts to your chosen U.S. investment. You are the poster child for EB-5 investors and your I-526 sailed through processing. You have just one problem: when you were 20 you were convicted of cocaine possession. Under current U.S. immigration law, you can never get an immigrant visa and that means your EB-5 American Dream has become a million-dollar nightmare. It’s tempting to think the EB-5 program is all about the money, but there’s more to it. Like any visa application, EB-5 applicants must also satisfy basic admissibility requirements. There are various grounds for visa refusal and possible ways to avoid and contest inadmissibility findings and whether waivers may be available. Sometimes, waivers may not be available to immigrants, but may be available to non-immigrants. HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM Section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act lists ten categories of excludable aliens, individuals who are inadmissible to the United States due to 81 EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE