Introduction and Overview
Dominique Pando Bucci (00:06)
Hello, my name is Dominique Pando Bucci. I am a U.S. business and investor immigration attorney based in Miami Beach, Florida. When we talk about EB-5, there are two main parts: the immigration process and the investment. Today I will walk you through the immigration side, and Hiloni Desai from CanAm will explain how regional centers work and the questions you should ask when choosing a project. So let’s get started.
What Is EB-5?
Dominique Pando Bucci (00:36)
EB-5 is a way to get permanent residence in the United States by making an investment. With one investment, you, your spouse, and your unmarried children under 21 all get green cards. The standard investment amount is $1,050,000, but most EB-5 projects qualify for the reduced amount of $800,000, which applies if the project is in a rural area, a high unemployment area, or an infrastructure project. If the project is rural, there is an additional advantage. USCIS, the immigration agency, gives those cases priority processing, which means they are decided faster.
Investment Requirements
Dominique Pando Bucci (01:17)
Your investment has to be at risk. That does not mean you have to make a risky investment, but it does mean that the money cannot just sit safely in a bank account. It has to be placed in a project where there is a chance of gain or loss, and good EB-5 projects are structured to keep that risk as low as possible while still qualifying for EB-5. Your investment also has to create at least ten full-time jobs for U.S. workers, which is why Congress passed the EB-5 law to begin with: to create American jobs.
The EB-5 Process Overview
Dominique Pando Bucci (01:51)
The EB-5 process moves in stages. It starts with your decision to go for it and ends with you and your family becoming U.S. citizens. So how do we begin? Once you decide to apply for EB-5, the first step is to hire an immigration lawyer to guide you on the immigration process. At the same time, you begin researching EB-5 projects to see which one might be the right fit for you. Your immigration lawyer reviews your background to make sure there are no issues that could prevent you as an individual from getting a green card. Your lawyer also prepares a source of funds checklist tailored to your specific case, because immigration wants to see how you earned the money you are investing and how it moved to the project.
Conditional Green Card to Citizenship
Dominique Pando Bucci (02:40)
Once your attorney gives you the green light, you make the investment and file the case. After it is approved, you and your family receive a two-year conditional green card. In the 90 days before it expires, you file another case with immigration to remove the conditions and make your green card permanent. Here you prove that the funds stayed invested and that the ten jobs were actually created. Finally, five years after receiving your first conditional green card, you and your family can apply to become U.S. citizens. To recap: first you receive a two-year conditional green card, then you apply to make the green card permanent, and finally you can apply for citizenship.
Part One: The I-526E Petition and Source of Funds
Dominique Pando Bucci (03:25)
Getting that first two-year green card has two parts. First, immigration reviews your investment. Then it reviews your personal background. Part one is the I-526E petition, where immigration checks that your money is clean. In immigration, we usually refer to filings by the form number. Here we show that your money came from a legal source, that you paid taxes on it, that you invested it, and that the investment is projected to create ten American jobs. Common sources of funds are salary, business profits, dividends, personal or bank loans, gifts, or inheritance. The funds can come from inside or outside of the U.S., and even from several people. Your lawyer’s role is to present everything clearly to immigration and make sure that there are no red flags. When the I-526E is approved, that only means that your investment qualifies. It does not mean you personally qualify for a green card yet.
Part Two: The Green Card Application
Dominique Pando Bucci (04:35)
Part two is the green card application, where immigration focuses on you, the individual. Here, immigration looks at you and your family’s personal backgrounds and decides whether you should be granted permanent residence. Immigration looks for what are called grounds of inadmissibility, such as past immigration violations, certain criminal issues, or medical conditions. Your immigration attorney will guide you through this process to address any issues that come up. How and when you file the second part depends on whether you are inside or outside of the United States. If you are in the U.S. in valid status (and it cannot be ESTA), you can apply for a green card through Adjustment of Status using Form I-485. Each family member files their own I-485, and you can file them together with your I-526E, called concurrent filing. While the I-485 is pending, you can get temporary work and travel permits. If you are outside of the U.S., then after your I-526E is approved, you and each family member apply for an EB-5 immigrant visa at the U.S. consulate in your home country. Once you arrive in the U.S. on the visa, you become a conditional green card holder and your physical card is mailed to you.
Removing Conditions: The I-829 Petition
Dominique Pando Bucci (06:00)
Two years later, you file the I-829 petition to remove the conditions. When that is approved, your green card becomes permanent and you no longer have to think about immigration deadlines or risks.
Three Critical Timing Issues
Dominique Pando Bucci (06:14)
Before I turn it over to Hiloni, I wanted to highlight three important timing issues. First, the EB-5 law is not permanent. It is set to end in September 2027, but the important deadline is actually one year earlier, September 30, 2026. You need to file your I-526E by September 30 of next year to lock in the current rules. This is called grandfathering. If you wait and Congress does not renew the EB-5 program or changes it, for example by raising the investment amount, you could lose your chance at the green card. Second, children age out when they turn 21 and can no longer be included with one EB-5 investment. Some exceptions exist, but not for everyone, so timing really matters for your children. Third, each year only a limited number of EB-5 green cards are available. If more people apply than there are green cards, a line starts to form called a backlog. That means even if your I-526E is approved, you cannot get the green card right away. You have to wait your turn. Filing early saves your place in line. So if you have been thinking about EB-5, it is important to make a decision now, whether yes or no, while the option is still open.
The Immigration Attorney’s Role
Dominique Pando Bucci (07:35)
When I work with EB-5 clients, my role goes beyond just documenting the source of funds. I also help answer the bigger questions. Should you apply inside the U.S. or at a consulate abroad? How do you make sure your family members are included? When is it safe to travel or start working? What if there was a gap without valid status? That is my role as an immigration attorney. The regional center’s role is different. The regional center manages the project and your investment. With that, I am happy to hand it over to Hiloni Desai at CanAm. Hiloni will explain what to look for when choosing the right project for your EB-5 green card.
Introduction to CanAm and Regional Centers
Hiloni Desai (09:13)
Thank you, Dominique, for the introduction, and thank you everyone for joining today. My name is Hiloni Desai and I work as a Senior Associate at CanAm Investor Services. CanAm Investor Services is a wholly owned broker-dealer under CanAm Enterprises, and CanAm Enterprises is one of the largest, most reputable regional centers in the EB-5 industry. CanAm structures and promotes the EB-5 projects that investors can choose to make a qualifying investment into.
CanAm’s Track Record
Hiloni Desai (09:45)
In terms of our track record, CanAm has been in the immigration-linked investments industry for over 35 years, and we have exclusively been in the EB-5 industry for over 20 years. During this time, we have successfully funded 75 EB-5 projects, raising over $3.5 billion in EB-5 capital, and we have already repaid 52 of those projects, amounting to over $2.5 billion repaid. We have an investor base of over 7,000 investors and their families that have gone through CanAm. Our success is attributed to the conservative approach we take when structuring our EB-5 projects.
Evaluating an EB-5 Regional Center
Hiloni Desai (10:24)
I am going to go over today two key factors when making your EB-5 investment decision. First, how to evaluate an EB-5 regional center. Second, how to evaluate the project within a regional center. Prior to evaluating a specific project, the first step involves evaluating the regional center. You can do so by thoroughly reviewing the regional center’s historical track record on both the immigration side and the investment side. On the investment side, some targeted questions to ask would be: How many projects has the regional center raised capital for? How many projects has the regional center repaid? Have the regional center’s projects always met the minimum job creation requirements? On the immigration side, some targeted questions are: What is the regional center’s track record for project I-956F approvals? What is the regional center’s track record for individual investor petitions, which are the I-526 and the I-829 approvals? Lastly, on overall compliance, confirming that the regional center has a clean record when it comes to compliance or legal issues is always helpful as well.
Evaluating an EB-5 Project
Hiloni Desai (11:38)
Now moving on to evaluating EB-5 projects within a regional center. In terms of project eligibility, you can start with confirming the EB-5 requirement of investment amount and the qualifying project category. As Dominique mentioned, most projects today will qualify for that $800,000 investment level, which means they need to be at least a rural, high unemployment, or infrastructure category project. Second, job creation: verifying the project’s ability to create the required number of jobs, which is a minimum of ten jobs per investor. Most EB-5 projects will have a healthy cushion built in of at least 20% above that minimum required jobs. Third, the developer’s experience: assessing the developer’s track record not only overall, but specifically their experience in the relevant industry that your project is going to be in. Lastly, assessing the project’s financial viability, which includes its capital structure and its sustainability, meaning the ability to withstand economic shifts, downturns, or any market fluctuations that could come up during your investment term.
Closing Remarks
Hiloni Desai (13:12)
All in all, by carefully considering these factors when evaluating an EB-5 regional center and EB-5 project, investors can make informed decisions and dramatically increase their chances of success with the EB-5 program. Just to wrap it up, Dominique and I hope this session was informative. We hope it was helpful. Feel free to reach out to either of us with any further questions. Thank you for tuning in.
