must show that the assumptions used in the econometric report
that established the direct (note that economists’ definition
differs from above), indirect and induced jobs have been in
fact created by proving that the assumptions are now true. An
econometric report must be prepared with documentation to
support the assertions in the report. Failure to prove that the
required number of jobs have been created, or will be created in
a reasonable time, will lead to denial of the I-829 petition.
The investor must also prove that his/her initial investment
funds have not, in whole or in part, been returned to him/her.
Any return of dividends must be returns on the investment and
are not returns of the investment. Thus, the project must keep
detailed records of all the investment funds from the time of
investment to I-829 adjudication and show that the investment
funds have been used to create the qualified jobs.
As discussed in Stage One, government agencies would
conduct investigations and site visits to ensure that the jobs
have in fact been created.
d. Short Answer:
It is not easy to obtain an EB-5 green card. A very high level
of scrutiny is applied to each of the three stages, in addition to
the document scrutiny discussed earlier. The U.S. government
departments and agencies involved in the review process
include the USCIS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),
Department of State, Department of Justice, Department of
the Treasury, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the International Criminal
Police Organization (INTERPOL).
III. Why Is a Green Card Not Guaranteed?
The law does not permit the investment to be guaranteed by
the assets of the enterprise and requires the investment to be
at-risk throughout the duration of the EB-5 process, which is
until final adjudication of the investors’ I-829 petition.
The law does permit projects to insure the investment and to
have third party guarantees that are not based on the assets of
the enterprise in which the EB-5 investor is investing. These do
not conflict with EB-5 law. However, any insurance and third
party guarantees become valueless if the guarantors go out of
business. As such, according to unofficial positions taken by
USCIS, each case will be judged on its merits for compliance
and that all guarantor third parties except for the federal
government create some level of risk.
With the delays in processing time and visa backlog for
Mainland Chinese investors, the investors’ investments may
remain at-risk for over seven years. If their I-829 petitions are
denied, not only will they be ineligible to obtain a permanent
green card; they may lose their investment capital. This is a
Continued to page 66
EB-5 DIRECT
INVESTMENTS
Broker-Dealer Provides
Direct Investment
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O: 212-878-6500
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E: www.globalalliancesecurities.com
Member – FINRA and SIPC
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65