How Long Does The EB-5 Process Take?

Interested in investing in the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program to get green cards for you and your family?

If so, it’s important to know how long the EB-5 process takes so you can decide if the EB-5 Program is right for you.

Here’s how long each step of the EB-5 process roughly takes.

Step 1:

Choose an EB-5 project to invest in.

This can take as little as a few weeks or as long as a few months depending on the investor. How much time an investor spends conducting due diligence and hiring professionals such as an immigration attorney to look into the project and regional center they select is a personal preference.

Step 2:

File an I-526 Immigrant Petition for Alien Entrepreneur and wait for approval.

Depending on how prepared an investor, getting all the information and evidence to their immigration attorney for submission with their I-526 Petition could be quick or it could take a while. Again, this is dependent on the investor. Processing time for the I-526 Petition is listed on the USCIS website. According to USCIS, receipt date for case inquiries before January 23, 2017, have an estimated time range of 22-28.5 months.

Step 3:

Become eligible to obtain a visa when one becomes available.

When an investor can receive a visa depends on their country of origin. Investors from Mainland China and Vietnam are currently suffering from visa retrogression. According to the Chief of the Visa Controls Office, Charles Oppenheim, the following countries may have to wait this long:

China: 16.5 years

Vietnam: 7.6 years

Brazil: 1.6 years

India: 8.4 years

South Korea: 2.4 years

Taiwan: 2 years

All other countries are current, meaning that they have no backlog and no wait time for a green card.

Step 4:

Once an investor receives conditional permanent residence, they have about two years to fulfill the EB-5 Program requirements. This process could take years in many cases and the investment must remain at-risk the entire time.

Step 5:

After about two years (or likely longer), an investor must file their I-829 Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Residence Status.

If approved, an investor and his or her spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 years, will receive unconditional permanent residency status.

Step 6:

Five years after an investor received conditional permanent residency, he or she may be eligible for U.S. citizenship.

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