Step 1

Fill Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Along with the Form, you will be required to submit documentary evidence supporting

  1. Investment in a for-profit new commercial enterprise.
  2. Your active involvement in the new commercial enterprise’s management.
  3. Your investment of required amount along with evidence that investment funds were obtained through lawful means by submission of documents like
    1. Business registration records
    2. Personal and business tax returns, and other tax returns  of any kind filed within the past five years
    4. Documents identifying any other income or money source
    5. Certified copies of all pending civil or criminal, and money judgment proceedings against you within the  past 15 years.
  4. Creation of required full-time jobs. You will be required to submit a comprehensive business plan indicating the need for  not less than ten employees due to the nature and size of the new commercial enterprise and the approximate dates, within the period of two years, when each employee will be  hired. If your investment falls under the classification of a  regional-center affiliated case, then you must show that the capital investment was made in compliance with the business plan of the regional center. Only then will you receive credit  for the indirect jobs that you have created through your investment.
  5. Preservation of required full-time jobs in a troubled business through the submission of a business plan. Regional center  cases must show compliance with the business plan of the regional center.

No labor certification is required for immigrant investor.

Upon approval, fill Form I-485 with USCIS to adjust your status to conditional permanent resident within the US or fill DS-230 for immigrant visa and alien registration with the Department of State so that you can obtain an EB-5 visa for admission to the United States.

Application for immigrant visa can be made at a US embassy or consulate outside the USA only after the Form I-526 has been approved by USCIS.

Step 2

Upon USCIS approval, the form is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC), which assigns a case number for the petition.

NVC will instruct you to fill Form DS-261 regarding Choice of Address and Agent when your priority date meets the most recent qualifying date. This form will not be required if you have an attorney.

Pre-processing begins as NVC provides instructions for payment of appropriate fees.

After payment of the fees, NVC will ask you to submit the necessary immigrant visa documents.

Step 3

According to NVC instructions, schedule and complete your mandatory medical examination performed by an authorized panel physician and receive required vaccinations before the visa interview

Step 4

When NVC determines the file to be complete with all necessary documents, they will schedule your interview appointment.

NVC will send the file to the US Embassy or Consulate where the visa interview will take place.

You, your attorney, and any third-party agent will receive the appointment emails specifying the date and time of interview along with other instructions. Letters will be sent if no email address is available.

You will be interviewed by a consular officer who will determine whether you are eligible to receive the visa or not.

You are required to bring a valid passport along other documents not submitted to the interview.

If your visa is approved, your spouse, and unmarried children under the age of 21 may be admitted to the US during the two-year conditional period.

After the two years, you are required to submit Form I-829 Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions. The documentary evidence to be provided with the form includes:

  1.   Proof of your investment in a new commercial enterprise. The proof may include documents like copies of the organizational documents of the business and federal tax returns filed by the business. The aforesaid list of documents is not exhaustive and you may be required to submit other documents that provide adequate proof of your investment.
  2.  Proof that you have invested the required funds in total or that you are actively in the process of investing the required amount of funds in the new commercial enterprise.
  3. Proof that you have sustained the investment made in the new commercial enterprise throughout the two-year period for which you were granted conditional permanent residence. The list of proofs include
  4. Proof that you have created or will be creating, within a reasonable period of time, 10 full-time jobs for individuals falling under the definition of qualifying employees. Such proof may include
    1. Business payroll records
    2. Relevant tax documents
    3. Employee Forms I-9
    4. The above-mentioned list of documents is not exhaustive and you may be required to submit all other documents that serve as proof of creation of  employment in the new commercial enterprise.
  5. The documents listed as proof for creation of jobs will also be required as proof that the investor has, instead of creating, maintained the number of existing employees in the enterprise at a level not below the pre-investment level for the period of two years for which he or she has been granted admission as a conditional permanent resident. Further, at least ten jobs must be maintained.
  6. In case the investor’s case is a regional-center affiliated case, the investor must show that the capital investment was made in compliance and according to the business plan of the regional center for the investor to be credited with the preservation of indirect jobs.

Upon approval of Form I-829, the conditions on the Green Card of your spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 shall be removed. Once given the status of lawful permanent residents i.e. Green Card holders, your spouse and your children will be legally permitted to work in the USA or attend school in the USA.