The U.S. investment immigration EB-5 program clearly states that all investments must be at risk. Therefore, EB-5 investment is a risky investment, which has become common knowledge. Any promotion of zero-risk investments is misleading, but do you know where the risks of EB-5 investments actually lie? The risks of a project can be observed from different angles, but the risks of EB-5 investments ultimately boil down to two major risks.
Risk One: Employment Risk. The basic requirement of the U.S. investment immigration EB-5 visa is that each investor must choose an investment project when submitting their application, and this project must create at least 10 full-time jobs. If the project fails to create 10 full-time jobs within the next two and a half years, the conditional green card obtained may be revoked and cannot be renewed to a permanent green card. Therefore, the risk of employment is essentially the risk of the green card.
Risk Two: Investment Risk. Investment under the U.S. immigration EB-5 program, like any other project investment, carries risks. Investment risk relates to whether the invested funds can be recovered in the future. In fact, investment risk and employment risk are interconnected; if a project investment fails, its employment will typically be problematic. Conversely, if a project investment succeeds and is completed as planned, its employment will also show optimistic prospects. Thus, investment risk and employment risk are essentially two sides of the same coin.
EB-5 investment immigration cannot avoid these two risks, but U.S. immigration law does not specify the magnitude of risk levels. In other words, regardless of the size of the risk, as long as it can be proven that there is a risk, it complies with the EB-5 program. Therefore, the correct choice should be to select projects with low risks in both employment and investment. As a mature investor, when choosing a project, it is essential to clarify how employment will be resolved, how employment expectations will be guaranteed after two and a half years, what the cash flow for the repayment of the investment funds will be, and what guarantees exist for the repayment of the investment funds.
Taking the Pennsylvania Turnpike project as an example, the series of questions mentioned above can ultimately be simplified into three key points:
1. I-526 (Conditional Green Card) Stage
The Pennsylvania Turnpike project has already received pre-approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Funds are released only after the I-526 is approved.
2. I-829 Stage (Permanent Green Card) The project’s second phase employment surplus remains as high as 4.37 times, making it one of the projects with the highest employment surplus in the market.
3. Investment Fund Return Stage
This project is financed by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which has committed to repayment. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has maintained a zero default rate for 77 years, has a high credit rating, and is rated A+ by Moody's.
For these reasons, the Pennsylvania Turnpike project has been highly sought after by investors.
