[Essence Interpretation] The EB-5 Visa Backlog is Here: How to Select Projects for U.S. Investment Immigration

On May 1, 2015, the U.S. EB-5 investment visa experienced its first visa retrogression in 25 years. During this period of retrogression, how should U.S. EB-5 immigrant investors choose a project? The shortcut to dealing with retrogression is one word: speed! However, WorldWay immigration experts remind investors: not only must you safely obtain a green card and a permanent green card, but you must also pay closer attention to whether the $500,000 investment can be safely returned. Therefore, you must never rush into a decision or seek medical advice blindly. Because the two major risks of U.S. investment immigration—employment risk and investment risk—both stem from the project itself, one must remember that the project is king and selecting the right project is fundamental.

1. Focus on thorough verification of project facts and evidence

Investors can conduct multi-party authoritative verification and comprehensive comparisons of the promotional facts and evidence involved in the projects under consideration based on personal research, objective media evaluations, and professional third-party assessments by authoritative institutions. Generally speaking, the main items to examine include: What is the nature of the project entity? Who are the borrower and the repayment entity of the project? Is it a private developer or a government agency? If it is a developer, what is their background? If it is the government, what is its credit rating? Secondly, what is the project's capital structure? What is the proportion of EB-5 capital? Is the employment calculation sufficient? Is there a guarantee for repayment? How is the repayment guaranteed?

Generally speaking, projects where the government assumes the role of the borrower and repayment entity have the support of the government's strong fiscal position and credit rating, making the investment and repayment more secure. In addition, choosing projects where the borrower and repayment entity have a credit rating will significantly reduce investment risk. Of course, a low proportion of EB-5 capital and an ultra-high employment rate are also important references for ensuring low investment risk and guaranteed repayment.

Currently, during the period of retrogression, it is a better choice to select projects that have already received I-924 pre-approval, because the approval time is relatively short. If investors apply for investment, submit their cases, and make payments as early as possible, it is very likely that they will be approved faster and earlier than other projects.

2. Choose EB-5 projects with a sound capital release supervision mechanism

If a project does not have a bank supervision account, it is difficult to be recognized by Chinese investors. More and more investors will also abandon projects without complete supervision accounts. A so-called incomplete account is one where a supervision account is nominally established, but the supervision agreement stipulates that the project party is allowed to use the investment funds in advance before the investor's I-526 application is approved. This situation often occurs because the project is overly dependent on EB-5 funds. In fact, the more a project relies on EB-5 funds, the more it lacks money, so the risk is greater. Undoubtedly, investors choosing safe, authentic EB-5 projects with a sound capital release supervision mechanism can undoubtedly reduce their investment risk to a greater extent.

3. Leverage third-party contract guarantees from intermediary agencies

WorldWay Group has pioneered countless historical precedents in the U.S. immigration industry. In terms of selecting projects and grasping the ability to reasonably reduce risks, it is better able to adapt to the new normal of "project is king" during this critical period of U.S. investment immigration. WorldWay analysis team fully considers the actual needs of investors. From the perspective of selecting the best projects for investors, they provide investors with an "Essential Interpretation" based on the project offering documents, objectively organizing the EB-5 three-pass guarantee measures of the project from the perspective of senior professionals, as well as the sources of these measures and clauses. In short, through third-party contract guarantees, WorldWay fully interprets the constraints involved in the contract clauses, protecting the investor's investment safety to a greater extent.

Currently, the Pennsylvania Turnpike EB-5 project is a purely government project where the state government assumes the responsibility for borrowing and repayment. Its borrower and repayment entity is the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Its credit rating has been rated A+ by the three major international rating agencies, equivalent to the sovereign rating of Japan, and higher than the ratings of all state-owned banks in China. At the same time, it maximizes investment safety through a sound EB-5 capital supervision mechanism, making it one of the projects with the lowest risk coefficient in the current EB-5 market. In addition, the second phase of the project has an ultra-high employment rate of 4.368 times, providing investors with sufficient employment calculation guarantees for the removal of conditions on their permanent green cards. More importantly, such a good project has already been pre-approved by the immigration bureau, which can greatly save investors' approval time and has become a sharp tool for dealing with the three major crises of retrogression, price increases, and the September 30 deadline. Currently, the second phase of the project has been oversubscribed. Please inquire at: 400-138-2929.