Chicago EB-5 Visa Lawyer Helping Clients
The United States immigration laws provide for individuals who wish to enter the country on an employment basis, which accounts for the “EB” forms used to apply for legal residency. Among the EB applications, there are 5 categories that may be used to seek a visa or green card. The fifth category refers to foreign investors and entrepreneurs who wish to come to the U.S. to create companies and provide jobs for U.S. citizens and other green card holders. While the requirements may seem simple for this category – the individual must have a minimum investment amount – it can still be challenging to be approved as you must show after two years that you have created a bona fide enterprise.
Please don’t think that simply supplying a substantial investment is sufficient to be approved. Your first priority should be to speak with an investor visa lawyer who has a great deal of experience, such as Attorney Kevin Dixler of the Law Office of Kevin L. Dixler. Attorney Dixler is an experienced immigration lawyer who has worked with clients for nearly thirty years, helping unite families and ensuring that innovative individuals achieve their dreams. Contact the Law Office of Kevin L. Dixler right away to discuss your investment enterprise and to see how we can help you get your E-5 visa started today. Call 312-728-4610 to schedule a consultation!
What is an Investor Visa?
Investor visas are one portion of employment-based visas awarded to immigrants each year in the United States. While other visas offer entry based on special knowledge or ability to fill a position left open in the U.S. markets, EB-5 visas grant permanent residence for foreign investors who create new jobs through a new commercial enterprise or management of an existing business. This type of individual is otherwise known as a treaty investor as he or she enters the country not to seek employment but to be a business owner.
Treaty investors who apply for an investor visa must fulfill specific requirements to receive a green card based on Form EB-5. For example, to be approved for an investor green card, the individual must have a minimum of $1,800,000 in investment funds (or $900,000 if investing in an area that is rural or has a high level of unemployment). Following the initial investment, the business owner must prove in a follow-up investigation that they have grown the business and created jobs for at least 10 U.S. citizens or green card holders.
With the ever-changing immigration laws, anyone seeking entry into the United States with a treaty investor visa or needing any kind of legal services regarding immigration should seek out a trustworthy and experienced immigration lawyer like Attorney Kevin Dixler. Our talented legal team can give you up-to-date information on how to gain legal entry into the country, prove that you have sufficient income for a treaty investor visa, and keep your permanent residency. Contact us right away to get started!
What Are the Requirements for an Investor Visa?
In today’s stressful and volatile political climate, it is essential to act right away to achieve your immigration goals. This includes applying for an EB-5 visa to start a US business or improve an existing business. However, not every treaty investor will qualify for the immigrant investor program.
To obtain an investor visa, the applicant must:
- Have enough capital investment to qualify (currently $1,800,000 or $900,000 for investments in a targeted area that is rural or has high unemployment)
- Prove that they have created a new commercial enterprise
- Have lawfully gained the capital that they invest in the company
- Create at least 10 new jobs for U.S. citizens or green card holders
- Maintain business operations and be engaged in the management of the company
As you can see, simply having the minimum investment is not sufficient to obtain a visa. Many applicants become frustrated with the detailed investigation during the process, including proving that the funds came from a lawful source. For the best chance of obtaining a green card based on your EB-5, you should speak with an investor visa lawyer as soon as possible.
Can Someone Who Holds an EB-5 Visa Obtain Visas for Family Members?
Yes! For applicants who successfully obtain an investor green card, one of the greatest benefits is that the immigrant can sponsor their family members who wish to enter the country. Family members of the investor will receive conditional permanent residence for two years, at which time they can have the condition removed if the investor meets the requirements for keeping their investor visa.
It is important to note that only the unmarried children of individuals with an investor green card may receive residency only if they are under the age of 21. For married children or adults over the age of 21, their family member can still sponsor their entry into the U.S., but they must wait until they gain citizenship. For help learning how to get your EB-5 visa approved and bring your family members into the country, please reach out to a trusted legal representative. Remember that this article is written for general information purposes only. Every situation is different, so you should not act until you have spoken with a lawyer in person, such as Kevin Dixler of the Law Office of Kevin L. Dixler.
How Do You Obtain an Investor Visa?
As with most processes in immigrating to the United States, you must satisfy the fees, documents, and other requirements under the law. We recommend speaking with an experienced immigration attorney before taking any steps, as they can help you identify the right path for your immigration and avoid the pitfalls that could lead to devastating results.
Once the immigrant has submitted the application for an EB-5 visa and been approved, they should submit a Form I-526 to the U.S.C.I.S. to gain entry as an alien entrepreneur. They will then meet with an immigration officer at the U.S. embassy in their home country for an interview and to review the applicant’s history in the areas of health, criminal background, and immigration. The entire process may take well over a year to complete.
To minimize the stress and headache of the visa application, the investor should hire an immigration attorney with substantial experience to get legal advice and representation if necessary. Contact our law firm at 312-728-4610 today to learn more about immigrating with an EB-5 visa and starting a new enterprise in the United States.
Are There Advantages to Obtaining an EB-5 Visa Compared to Other Immigration Procedures?
One primary advantage of entering the United States as a treaty investor, as mentioned above, is the ability to bring family members into the country as long as they are a spouse and unmarried children. However, there are even more benefits to foreign nationals who obtain an investor visa.
Some advantages to getting an investor green card are:
- The investor visa does not require employment authorization like other EB visas. You are free to live anywhere in the United States as long as your investor visa is valid.
- You do not have to maintain a business in your home country.
- No extraordinary ability or skill is required.
- There are no quotas in the EB-5 program like there are in other employment-based immigration programs.
- You do not have to have family members already present in the United States in order to immigrate.
- The investor visa, unlike an E-2 visa, provides a direct path to citizenship.
While obtaining a visa based on a potential investment enterprise may sound challenging and complex, this program can be highly rewarding for immigrants with the capital and legal representation necessary to get approval for an investor visa. Take advantage of the benefits available for treaty investors by contacting our law firm today to schedule an appointment. We have nearly three decades of experience in immigration services and can help you on the path to citizenship for you and your family.
How Can a Lawyer Help in Pursuing an EB-5 Visa?
U.S. Congress has recently considered a number of reforms to the treaty investor visa program due to doubts about its effectiveness. For you, this means that you should not delay in pursuing your investor visa a minute longer. For quicker results and a sure chance of success, you need legal advice and representation that an experienced investor visa lawyer can provide.
Your lawyer will do much more than fill out forms and tell you where to sign your documents. A talented attorney like Kevin Dixler will explain the technical aspects of immigration requirements in a way that you can understand. They will organize and submit evidence to the U.S.C.I.S. in a way that gives you a better chance of approval. Many applicants for immigration forget or don’t realize they should submit certain pieces of evidence, but a lawyer can help avoid these mistakes and their catastrophic consequences.
While we cannot control the actions of the administrators who make the decisions in your case, Attorney Dixler will work with you in a private and candid setting to ensure that every aspect of the case is covered, giving you the best possible chance of a positive result in your immigration matters. Don’t take the chance that your approval will be delayed because you didn’t work with an excellent immigration lawyer, or you could face denial or even deportation! Reach out to our law firm today.
Should You Hire Our EB-5 Visa Attorney?
In matters of immigration, there is simply too much at stake to go it alone or to work with lawyers who are not capable of giving you the results you need. Our legal team has the know-how and determination to get the job done, and we will stand by you throughout the immigration process.
Attorney Kevin Dixler specializes in immigration and has provided excellent service for his clients since 1993. He has been named a Thomson Reuters Super Lawyer in immigration for the last nine consecutive years and is experienced in many forms of immigration law, including investor visa applications. At the Law Office of Kevin L. Dixler, each appointment and teleconference incurs a modest fee. However, we believe that this small investment in time and money pays huge dividends as you benefit from our high success rate. You should not underestimate the value of knowledge, honesty, and dedication when it comes to nuanced fields such as immigration law.
Please rely on our experience, determination, and skill when it comes to successfully applying for an investor visa. Contact us today to learn more at 312-728-4610.