L-1 AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO
PERPETUAL EB-5 RETROGRESSION
The movement to EB-5 from nonimmigrant categories is
tempered by a growing interest and movement of China-born
investors away from EB-5. A popular alternative for some
recent China EB-5 investors, who currently face a decade
or more wait for an available visa number, is the L-1, the
intracompany transferee in a managerial or executive position.
Not all EB-5 investors will qualify as a manager or executive
under the U.S. immigration laws, so care should be taken to
properly screen for eligibility.
MARKETING EB-5 TO UNIVERSITIES
AND EMPLOYERS
Subject to compliance with all U.S. securities laws and
regulations, EB-5 marketers and developers may find willing
audiences in the United States interested in EB-5 as an alternative
to the non-immigrant visa categories listed above. Fertile ground
for such efforts may be found in universities, where F-1 students
graduating and beginning to navigate the OPT or H-1B arenas
may be able to ask parents or relatives to fund their EB-5 case,
allowing them to stay in the United States with permanent
residency and not be tied to a particular employer.
Another potential area could be the employers themselves. While
on the one hand, employers with large numbers of H-1B workers
might seem to not have any incentive to pass information to
their workers about how to obtain permanent residency, with
education from EB-5 developers and immigration attorneys,
these employers may see this as a value-added employment
benefit to their pool of eligible employees. It is incumbent upon
the EB-5 stakeholder community to educate employers and
other potential sources of EB-5 investors in a professional and
accurate manner.
FREDRICK W. VOIGTMANN
Fredrick W. Voigtmann, a graduate of The Ohio
State University and Capital University Law School,
owns the Law Office of Fred Voigtmann, P.C. with
offices in Woodland Hills and Arcadia, California. He
is admitted to practice law in Ohio and California.
Voigtmann’s practice offers legal services for investors, employers
and regional centers, and he is a mentor and advisor to immigration
attorneys. He has written articles on immigration and spoken on various
employment-based immigration issues.
Sources:
1
Visa application procedures and requirements, as well as processing times, vary from post
to post. The best way to be sure you are following the right procedures is to check the website
of the consular post where the application will be submitted for up to date E-2 visa application
requirements.
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EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE