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- Finding Information on the Regional
Centers
The majority of the information that you find on a particular
regional center will come from the proverbial "horse's mouth,"
so to speak, meaning that it is information selected and
sponsored by the regional center and its representatives. As you
will see in a moment, you cannot rely only on the information
that you are provided by the regional centers themselves. Why?
Because, very simply, it is often the job of the regional center
and their representatives to convince you that theirs is the
most worthwhile immigration investment option going. Without
investor money, a number of these centers will cease to exist,
and so many may promote themselves above and beyond any other,
regardless of how fit that center and investment is for you. You
need to be very cautious when examining regional centers through
their own Web sites, as they are the writers and promoters of
those sites and the information in them, and they are there to
tell you what is good about them. This does not make it
necessarily incorrect, but it also does not mean that you are
being presented with the whole story. The inside story with that
missing piece, can make a tremendous impact on your decision and
on the fitness of an investment for you.
- What to Know about the EB-5
Visa Program before you make a decision
To be perfectly blunt, when you approach a regional center, or
even when you visit their Web site or talk with a
representative, you will be probably be given the positives. You
may be painted a very pretty picture of what may turn out to be
an excellent investment opportunity and pathway to immigration;
or, you may be painted a very pretty picture of what turns out
to be a serious mismatch, or a marginal profitable investment.
In either case the regional center will paint you their picture;
it is up to you to find out what they may not be illustrating.
What you always need to remember when working with regional
centers and their representatives is that they have a purpose—to
sell their investment. They need to sell themselves and do it
well in order to attract enough investors and remain in
existence.
They may well need your money to survive!
Again, this does not mean that they are telling you things that
are untrue, but you may only be getting half of the story. What
you are told may be true, and may sound very good to you (no
doubt it will), but you cannot blindly trust that that is all
there is to know.
It is what you are not told that should be your concern. The
downsides to the project, the unrealized performances, the real
risks to the project, or how well suited a project may or may
not be to your particular, personal goals and interests. The
less "pretty" side of the investment is not what a regional
center or representative is always going to voluntarily talk
about. For that, you need an impartial adviser.
- Troubles With The EB-5 Program
When qualifying under the standard EB-5 program, many
entrepreneurs have found it difficult to reconcile the
requirement of investing $1,000,000 right away in the formation
stage of a business, as USCIS has interpreted the EB-5 law to
require, and create and maintain the ten new jobs within the
first two to three years of business, since this runs counter to
the normal gradual buildup of investment and expansion of staff
on an as-needed basis.
Some investors under the standard EB-5 program tried to take
shortcuts with creative financing arrangements, whereby money
was presented as having been invested without having been placed
at risk as equity capital spent to acquire assets or to make
other capital investments for the business. Alternatively, some
investors would take their capital back out of the business over
time while they were still subject to the requirement to
maintain the investment. Some investors were also creative in
counting the jobs that they created, such as by aggregating
part-time positions into full-time positions.
- Program REFORMS Create A Promising Future
It is no wonder, given the history and the rocky start of the
EB-5 program, that investors have been hesitant to use this
program. However, with the new reorganization of the program
came better government oversight and the recognition that
continued attention to and support for the EB-5 program are
necessary. Congress and successive presidents have continued to
stand behind the EB-5 program, approving several extensions of
the EB-5 IIPP for the regional centers and adopting measures to
resolve the issues of the earliest years of its existence.
The USCIS also continues to make strides to secure the integrity
of the program, while it has also improved consistency and
predictability in its case decision making, achieved speedier
processing, and done a lot, in general, in order to maintain
investor confidence in the reformed program. In 2005, USCIS
created a new unit charged with overseeing the EB-5 program,
including regulation and the development of policy and
regulations, field training of examiners, and on-site
inspections of regional centers and self-directed EB-5 projects.
This unit was first called the Investor and Regional Center Unit
(IRCU), and has since been renamed the Foreign Trader, Investor,
and Regional Center Program (FTIRCP). Its mandate is to
“strengthen and protect” the integrity of the EB-5 program while
also ensuring that the intentions of the United States to
encourage investment and promote job creation through the
program are promoted. Collectively, these changes are said to
promise a user-friendlier EB-5 program that shortens the time
for petition processing and builds into the system more
responsiveness to the needs of investors, while also being more
attentive to the needs of the larger business community. The new
efforts appear to be working too. In a two-year span from 2004
to 2006, immigration through the EB-5 program increased almost
six fold.
- Considerations For Making Your Investment Choice
After you have evaluated all of the options leading to permanent
residence in the United States, and you have decided upon the
EB-5 immigrant visa as your best means to obtaining permanent
residence, you will have some important decisions to make. You
must now decide whether to invest through the standard EB-5
program or to invest via the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Pilot
Program. That is a big decision to make. Like all responsible
decisions, ensuring the best possible outcome requires that you
gather all of the relevant facts and information so that you can
compare and contrast all your options and make the best, most
sustainable and appropriate decision for you.
As mentioned previously, there are three subcategories for the
EB-5 immigrant visa. Two of those subcategories fall under the
purview of the standard EB-5 investment program, or what is
often referred to as the “stand-alone” investment option. The
remaining one is the Regional Center investment option that was
created by the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program. Some
considerations to keep in mind would include:
- Fraud and the EB-5 Program
In a perfect world we would not need to talk about the
possibilities of fraud creeping into your life and investment,
but whenever there is money concerned, there is the possibility
of fraud. We have already seen examples, both historical and
recent, wherein people invested money that was earmarked for
securing their future in the states and were very sadly swindled
out of large sums of money. Many of those historic
mismanagements have been addressed and remedied, and actually,
overall, the EB-5 has been relatively free from fraudulent
activity.
For a number of years there have been concerns stressed in
regard to potential fraud, but sadly, families continue to fall
victim to the fast sales talk and showy presentations by
unscrupulous scammers. Investors continue to lose their
investments despite TV and media coverage of companies and
individuals who have been investigated and imprisoned for misuse
of funds.
Fraud awareness and prevention should always be part of your
consultation and advising. You should be schooled in the danger
signs and practices to be aware of, and educated as to the cases
that have come to light. You should know exactly to whom and
when to hand over your money, and what steps to take to protect
that money. Whatever you do, take nothing for granted, and rely
only on those proven sources of information that you know to be
true. Remember that you cannot rely on the opinions or
“experiences” of others—you can still find recommendations for
some of the worst offenders online today!
Fraud awareness and prevention is critical information to
have—it is an absolute must for you! It can be very difficult to
tell the difference between a real, trustworthy regional center
investment and the scams of a con artist who is working against
your interests and betraying your trust. Anyone can fall victim
to these very savvy fraudsters; get the information you need so
this does not happen to you!
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