EB5 Investors Magazine | Page 14

Continued from page 11 Extrapolating on the Chinese investor delays from above, a Chinese investor may experience a delay upwards of two years before he/she is able to enter the United States on the green card and personally manage the QSR. This combined delay in processing time and retrogression significantly shifts the EB-5 program job creation window. The regulations afford the investor two years from the date of entry in the United States on the green card to create the requisite number of jobs. At the time of I-829 filing, the investor may be in year six of operations. Any new business lasting beyond year one is an accomplishment, especially a restaurant. If the restaurant were to fail in year two, three or four, the investor will have lost the capital investment, as well as all the created jobs. Outside of arguing substantial compliance, the investor is likely to receive I-829 denial. to wait four years before they are able to operate their own business for the first time. Given these realities, investors may feel more comfortable leaving business management up to someone else, as is often the case in regional center investments. I-829 approval In order to receive I-829 approval, the investor must prove that (1) the investment was made; (2) the investment was continuously invested throughout the duration of the immigration process; and (3) as a result the investment created the requisite number of jobs. Congratulations Daniel B. Lundy In conclusion, QSRs lend themselves well to the EB-5 direct investment program, but timing concerns and long delays have created a cloud of uncertainty for investors. Regional centers can offer a more manageable and predictable path for investors wanting to invest in QSRs. One of the Country’s Top EB-5 Immigration Law Attorneys has Been Elected to Partnership in Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP. ★ [1] https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processingTimesDisplay.do;jsessionid=abcxl3a_zbXStfKOls2Tu Mr. Lundy, recently named one of the industry’s top 25 EB-5 Immigration lawyers by EB5 Investors Magazine, is a senior member of our EB-5 team and leads our Regional Center/Developer and Compliance practice groups. Klasko Immigration Law Partners is recognized worldwide as one of the leading EB-5 immigration law firms. www.klaskolaw.com 12 Regional Center Sponsored QSR Projects The scenarios listed above have made way for regional center sponsored QSRs. Regional center sponsorship allows the QSR to determine job creation based on direct, indirect and induced job creation. Capturing the jobs created from hard and soft construction costs, tenant improvements, and furniture, fixtures and fittings significantly increases the number of jobs a QSR can create, the benefit being that these jobs will be deemed created and credited to the investor upon completion of the construction, improvement or purchase. An investor will no longer have to worry about payroll in year six of operations, but can rather feel safe that the jobs were created much earlier in the immigration process. In addition, day-to-day operations no longer lie with the investor or an operator hired by the investor. The investor can turn to the project developer and rely on their expertise in managing the QSR, with only policy making decisions left to the investor. David Hirson Nima Korpivaara EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE David Hirson is a managing partner at David Hirson & Partners, LLP. There he leads a dedicated team of EB-5 legal professionals to provide a full scope of services for investors, projects, and regional centers. Nima Korpivaara is a partner at David Hirson & Partners, LLP. Prior to joining the firm, Nima worked with David Hirson at a previous law firm, where he was an attorney on David’s EB-5 team.