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Reliable EB-5 Regional Center; Alternative for OPT, CPT, H1B

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alphabetabc
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Reliable EB-5 Regional Center; Alternative for OPT, CPT, H1B

Post by alphabetabc » Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:54 pm

Many people who consider the EB-5 visa find it as an alternative to having to deal with employment sponsorship with their H1-B or OPT/CPT in order to stay in the U.S.

I used to work at the California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, approving a lot of EB-5 projects and dealing with a variety of regional centers. Most projects I approved were development projects, such as hotels or shopping centers. The regional centers usually tried building a new infrastructure from the ground up, which on the surface, seems like a solid EB-5 project, but actually has a lot of unforeseen problems.

One of the biggest issues with development projects is that the jobs created that are counted by USCIS, are only those created by the developer, and not any of the jobs created within the infrastructure after construction. (The employees of the hotel--housekeeping, reception, etc.--do NOT count towards the job creation). For example, if the regional center decides to build a hotel for Marriott, they must find a developer to help build the structure. The only job the developer has is to complete the building as efficiently and as cost effectively as possible. The developer creates the necessary construction jobs to complete building--the only ones that count towards USCIS job creation--and will not take into account the number of jobs the regional center needs to create in order to fulfill USCIS requirements.

But in order to build a new infrastructure, the regional center and developer will need a lot of money, and therefore, a lot of investors. If 200 investors invest at at $500,000 each, the regional center will have a total of $100 Million for a development project. And if each investor needs a minimum of 10 jobs created, there must be a minimum of 2,000 jobs created in order to fulfill the requirements for all 200 investors. Since only the construction jobs are counted by the USCIS, and not any of the hotel employees, it will be very difficult for the regional center to reach its target job creation.

Not only is the number of jobs created extremely difficult to achieve, the regional center must also fulfill the other USCIS requirements within a 2 year time frame. Once the regional center has raised enough money to build the hotel, they must get all investors' I-526 approved by USCIS, obtain permits from the city or county in order to start construction (which often takes more than a year), create at least 2,000 jobs, and complete the construction on the entire development within 2 years.

Of course most regional centers will sell you this project in an ideal world--how they would obtain all permits on time, and create all necessary jobs to get you your green card, etc. But thinking realistically, you will realize how difficult something like that really is. During my time working at the Governor's Office, I encountered numerous regional centers that could not even complete a single project because of these kinds of issues they encountered while trying to build a new development.

Most regional centers that follow this development project business plan become entrenched and are unable to produce what they promise their investors or unable to finish what they started. So it's essential to learn about each regional center's project before investing your money.

A friend of mine invested with an EB-5 regional center while trying to get his green card through his H1-B, and got the EB-5 green card before the H1-B green card (and he had been doing H1-B for about 4 years at that point). He got his I-526 approval in less than a year, and one of his fellow EB-5 investors got his in only 26 days.

Their projects contrast the development projects you normally see with regional centers. They create long term jobs (unlike the short term construction jobs in development projects) in existing establishments, which the regional center purchases. This way, the businesses does not have to wait for construction to be completed and can operate from day one. This regional center purchases all of the properties for their projects to use as collateral, in order to protect the investors' money.

Another thing that sets them apart is that they are the only regional center in California with international offices. This way they are able to communicate with their investors and deal with the investment money directly, without the use of commission-driven agents abroad to recruit investors, like most regional centers do. And of course, their projects are open and accessible for investors to see at any time, so they can thoroughly understand and see firsthand where their investment is going, and how the business and projects operate. It was no surprise to me to see that they have maintained a 100% approval rating for all applicants, and is ranked #1 by the Governor's Office.

Regardless of where you decide to invest, it is important to find a regional center that is reliable and has a solid business model. It's important the regional center allows you to see the projects in person, so you can better understand where your investment is going, and gauge how likely it is for you to obtain a U.S. Green Card.

Message me if you're interested in learning more about this regional center or EB-5 in general.

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