Eb5 Visa ,

[captlemons]

Hi , just looking at the eb5 visa , is there any one out there that has been succesfull or is it a scam ?

[Bevdeforges]

There is actually a visa type EB5, but I can think of lots more interesting things to do if I had a spare $1 million lying around.

The big caveat is that Congress has tightened up the conditions on this one a couple of times since the visa category was created. If you're seriously interested in investing in and running a business to create at least 10 jobs in the US, then go for it. If you're only looking to buy your way in for a green card, using the "passive investor" route ("only" $500K) then you're taking a serious risk of getting scammed by all the sharks out there looking to take your money and run.
Cheers,
Bev

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by captlemons

Hi , just looking at the eb5 visa , is there any one out there that has been succesfull or is it a scam ?

People have been successful.

Anything with money in it attracts scams, even more so when the government is involved. As always with everything in the US, caveat emptor!

Visa is due to sunset shortly and still hasn't been revived.
H.R. 5569: To extend for 5 years the EB-5 regional center pilot program, and for other purposes (GovTrack.us)

[captlemons]

there must be someone, who has gone the 500k passive investor route, if any has i would love to share youre thoughts on the process, as this was the i was thinking of !!

[RICHNTRISH]

Originally Posted by captlemons

there must be someone, who has gone the 500k passive investor route, if any has i would love to share youre thoughts on the process, as this was the i was thinking of !!

I think its a relatively new scheme which requires the monies to be invested for a certain about of time after which it will take a further amount of time for the investment to be sold on and the money to be returned . I think the first investors time limit to be able to come out of the scheme is due about now , maybe wrong through .
Theres a big section on floridaforums.com that will help more on this .
Richard.

Originally Posted by captlemons

Hi , just looking at the eb5 visa , is there any one out there that has been succesfull or is it a scam ?

Sure, if one can afford it. Not sure why you would fear that it is a scam. Although quite frankly I doubt you'll find someone with a first hand experience with this particular visa. Heck, if nothing else, they're probably too busy making money to check the forum. LOL Anyway... wouldn't it be easier to make the same question to an Immigration attorney? At least you would be able to find out whether it could be a viable option in your situation or not. [Just a thought]

[synthia]

It's the people who claim they are going to help you set up a passive investment for a fee that operate the scams. You pay money, they do nothing or make things worse, you get denied, they claim it was out of their hands. Or they could just take all your money and run.

[munchkin]

Originally Posted by captlemons

Hi , just looking at the eb5 visa , is there any one out there that has been succesfull or is it a scam ?

My husband and I researched the EB5 visa. This was after making multiple attempts at buy businesses in Florida. We are Canadians and we want to live in Florida full time. The EB5 visa is legit. There are various Regional Centers, all with the base investment of $500,000. We thought the risk varied, and wanted low risk. We also wanted a defined way of getting our money out after we had our green card. Not all the Regional Centers have an exit strategy. We also talked to Andrew Bartlett and Steve Parnell from EveryVisa Andrew and Steve confirmed what we concluded with our own research. We also talked to a number of immigration lawyers and settled on Anthony Olson of Sarasota. We are quite pleased with him.

We have invested with the Philadelphia Convention Center Project.

Yes, the EB5 program s due to "sunset" Sept 30 but it will be renewed, either at the 11th hour or down the road.....there is just too much money and too many powerful people invovled for the program to disappear. By next spring we expect to be able to live in Florida full time.

I hope this email gives you some reassurrance and help.

Karen

[beachbound]

Originally Posted by captlemons

Hi , just looking at the eb5 visa , is there any one out there that has been succesfull or is it a scam ?

The EB-5 is anything but a scam. We just received approval of our I-526 petition yesterday. Contrary to what may have been written on this site, there really are few "scammers" that are involved in this program. Having said that, one should look at in depth each project to satisfy all worries, some investments naturally will be of a more sound nature than others. The difference in each regional center tends to rovolve around the return on your investment. All programs will give you your visa, they have to qualify for this before your petition is approved. We went with American Life in Seattle who have been the cornerstone of this program since the beginning...and Henry Liebman has a stellar reputation of integrity. Their goal is to provide an eventual return on your money that will have you considering leaving your funds alone. If all goes as planned, we will indeed do just that. Keep in mind that most programs will suggest that you have a net worth of AT LEAST $3m USD to insure that it would be unlikely your necessity to pull your funds prematurely. There could be a great penalty for that, as at such a time, most money is tied up in construction. The only information that we found to be untrue...for us anyway, was the timeline. The approval for our I-526 was to take between 1-4 months...it took a full year right to the actual day!!! Hope this helps you in some way. Beachbound!

[munchkin]

First thanks for your posting. Hopefully this will help people. We have invested in the philly project. May I ask ...did your application get caught up in the verfication of the job creation....apparently there was questions about how the Seattle project did their calculations. We filed our I-526 at the end of July. Two in our group who could have been 6 weeks ahead of us...have gotten their I-526 approved. We are hoping that after the Senate vote today on the extension of the EB5 program that our applications will be processed in the next two months.

We are going to go for our medical next week...it is good for a year.

Any other info would be greatly appreciated.

thanks










QUOTE=beachbound;59278]The EB-5 is anything but a scam. We just received approval of our I-526 petition yesterday. Contrary to what may have been written on this site, there really are few "scammers" that are involved in this program. Having said that, one should look at in depth each project to satisfy all worries, some investments naturally will be of a more sound nature than others. The difference in each regional center tends to rovolve around the return on your investment. All programs will give you your visa, they have to qualify for this before your petition is approved. We went with American Life in Seattle who have been the cornerstone of this program since the beginning...and Henry Liebman has a stellar reputation of integrity. Their goal is to provide an eventual return on your money that will have you considering leaving your funds alone. If all goes as planned, we will indeed do just that. Keep in mind that most programs will suggest that you have a net worth of AT LEAST $3m USD to insure that it would be unlikely your necessity to pull your funds prematurely. There could be a great penalty for that, as at such a time, most money is tied up in construction. The only information that we found to be untrue...for us anyway, was the timeline. The approval for our I-526 was to take between 1-4 months...it took a full year right to the actual day!!! Hope this helps you in some way. Beachbound![/QUOTE]