Why should you make your child a principal EB-5 applicant? What are the benefits?

This article discusses the benefits of making your child a principal EB-5 applicant.

Under what circumstances should a parent have a child obtain a green card as a principal EB-5 investor? Why not simply make the parent the principal and add the child to their application?

There are 3 major  reasons why a child might make a better principal EB-5 applicant. Here are the 3 reasons:

1. There’s a backlog for Mainland China born applicants and the fear that the child might age out of the EB-5 Program is justified.

If there is a backlog or waiting list for a visa, then a child may age out of the program. In some cases, if there isn’t any waiting list and a family is approved after the child turns 21, but they applied before the child turned 21, they may find some relief from the Child Status Protection Act which works to keep immigrating families together.

2. The child is either over the age of 21 or married.

At the time when the EB-5 investor files their I-526 petition, if their child is over the age of 21 or married, they may not qualify for the EB-5 Program (see reason #1 for exceptions). The child would need to file as a principal EB-5 applicant. That applicant would then be able to add their spouse and any unmarried children to their applicant.

3. The child wishes to live in the U.S and attend a U.S. university, while the parents plan to stay in their home country.

Principal EB-5 applicants must fulfill certain residential requirements before their I-829 petition to remove conditions will be approved. Therefore, if a parent is the principal EB-5 applicant and they do not intend to live in the U.S. for 30 of the 60 months required immediately prior to filing their I-829 petition, they should make their child the principal applicant. There are many reasons why parents want their children to live in the United States. One major reason is the world-class universities. Another reason is job opportunity. Parents can gift their children the funds required to invest in the EB-5 Program.

For more information about the EB-5 Program, send us a message.