EB-5 Investor Visas

Tailored immigration advice for foreign investors

Foster LLP’s Investor Visa Group is dedicated to advising clients on how investment offers the opportunity to immigrate to the United States – whether for themselves, their family or key employees. The group’s attorneys are highly skilled business immigration advisors experienced at achieving immigration objectives through investment transactions. The Investor Visa Group’s services are organized around four major practice areas.

1. Non-Immigrant Investor Visas
2. EB-5 Immigrant Visas Filed Through Your Own Company
3. EB-5 Immigrant Visas Filed Through a Regional Center
4. Development of Regional Centers

1. Non-Immigrant Investor Visas

The Investor Visa Group is highly experienced at planning and executing temporary non-immigrant visas to provide clients with proper work visa status in the United States – acting successfully before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Consulates abroad.

The Investor Visa Group clients frequently select flexible non-immigrant visas such as the L visa for the opening of a new office in the United States, or E treaty trader or treaty investor visas, to permit clients to establish a new investment enterprise in the United States. Our attorneys are accomplished at resolving the challenges posed in planning and documenting these sophisticated visas. Our clients especially value our creative problem solving approach, and our ability to complete cases on a timely basis.

2. EB-5 Immigrant Visas Filed Through Your Own Company

Foster LLP has been a leader in immigrant investor visa petitions since the introduction of the EB-5 green card category in the early 1990’s. Under this petition, foreign investors contributing $900,000 to $1.8 million to a new commercial enterprise that they own and manage, and who directly create 10 new full-time jobs for local workers, are granted green card (i.e., permanent resident) status in the United States for 2 years. A second petition is then required at the end of 2 years to obtain green card status without conditions.

Attorneys of the Investor Visa Group use their expertise to counsel clients on significant issues relating to individual immigrant investor visas, including the source and path of the funds invested in the company; the maintenance of the “at risk” element of the invested funds; and the creation of at least 10 new full-time jobs for U.S. workers. Our keen understanding of immigrant investor petitions enable us to often find novel solutions to the complex questions of finance, corporate structures and investment planning that are essential to immigrant investor cases.

3. EB-5 Immigrant Visas Filed Through a Regional Center

The Investor Visa Group at Foster LLP has been highly successful at advising individual clients on the burgeoning number of EB-5 investor green card petitions filed through Regional Centers.

Regional Centers are businesses authorized by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to support foreign investors in their green card petitions, and to develop and manage such investments in a specific location in the U.S. Generally, Regional Centers require investments of $900,000 or $1.8 million depending on the location of the project. 

Regional Centers offer foreign investors several benefits, including enabling the pooling investments; using indirect job creation to establish that 10 jobs per investment were created, and having investments managed by the Regional Center – while still maintaining investor oversight.

Attorneys of the Investor Visa Group are sought by clients to act as detailed guides to the complex process of understanding the immigration steps involved in a Regional Center petition, and in understanding what risks and benefits each Regional Center offers investors from an immigration point of view. Investor team attorneys also analyze a client’s potential assets to determine the most effective source of funds. When the initial investment has been completed, Foster will prepare and file all necessary immigrant visa petitions before USCIS.

4. Development of Regional Centers

The Investor Visa Group at Foster advises private entrepreneurs and local governments on pros and cons of establishing a USCIS-approved Regional Center as well as EB-5 compliant offering. Regional Centers not only offer foreign investors a chance to immigrate through investment in projects that are EB-5 compliant and allow projects to count indirect and induced jobs, they also serve as springboards for attracting foreign investors to a community and creating local jobs. Our attorneys have regularly assisted clients in the process of developing and structuring Regional Centers to comply with USCIS requirements, successfully applying to USCIS for approval as well as filing regional center annual certification to USCIS.

If you have any further questions regarding non-immigrant investor visas or EB-5 visas, please contact our immigration law firm. With principal offices located in Houston and Austin, TX, contact us today to request a consultation with Foster LLP’s Investor Visa Group.