The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) recently upheld the Immigration Agency’s denial of an EB-5 Applicant’s Removal of Conditions. The reason for the denial was the applicants investment of his money in a project that was not approved by the USCIS.
As way of background, the EB-5 visa provides immigrant status to foreign national investors who agree to invest between $500,000 and $1 million dollars into a business within the United States. The investment can be an organization in which the applicant can have an active role in, or it can be in a regional center – where the applicant need not have an active role. The USCIS requires that EB-5 applicants apply for the removal of the conditions to their Green Card two years after receiving it. This step is done to ensure that the investment is ongoing and that the investor truly invested into the United States.
Unfortunately, in this case, the EB-5 visa recipient failed to invest his money into the approved regional center with which he applied for his Green Card with. Instead, the Eb-5 investor determined that he would invest his money in a different company than the one that USCIS approved. Because of his change in investment, the USCIS and the AAO determined that the EB-5 investor had failed to maintain the level of investment that was needed in the approved regional center. Because of that failure, the EB-5 investor has lost his green card and will probably have to apply again if he seeks to obtain lawful permanent residency in the United States.