Continued from page 11
Extrapolating on the Chinese investor delays from above, a
Chinese investor may experience a delay upwards of two years
before he/she is able to enter the United States on the green
card and personally manage the QSR. This combined delay in
processing time and retrogression significantly shifts the EB-5
program job creation window. The regulations afford the investor two years from the date of entry in the United States on the
green card to create the requisite number of jobs. At the time of
I-829 filing, the investor may be in year six of operations. Any
new business lasting beyond year one is an accomplishment,
especially a restaurant. If the restaurant were to fail in year two,
three or four, the investor will have lost the capital investment,
as well as all the created jobs. Outside of arguing substantial
compliance, the investor is likely to receive I-829 denial.
to wait four years before they are able to operate their own business for the first time. Given these realities, investors may feel
more comfortable leaving business management up to someone
else, as is often the case in regional center investments.
I-829 approval
In order to receive I-829 approval, the investor must prove
that (1) the investment was made; (2) the investment was continuously invested throughout the duration of the immigration
process; and (3) as a result the investment created the requisite
number of jobs.
Congratulations
Daniel B. Lundy
In conclusion, QSRs lend themselves well to the EB-5 direct
investment program, but timing concerns and long delays have
created a cloud of uncertainty for investors. Regional centers
can offer a more manageable and predictable path for investors
wanting to invest in QSRs.
One of the Country’s
Top EB-5 Immigration
Law Attorneys has Been
Elected to Partnership in
Klasko Immigration
Law Partners, LLP.
★
[1] https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processingTimesDisplay.do;jsessionid=abcxl3a_zbXStfKOls2Tu
Mr. Lundy, recently named one of the
industry’s top 25 EB-5 Immigration lawyers
by EB5 Investors Magazine, is a senior
member of our EB-5 team and leads our
Regional Center/Developer and Compliance
practice groups.
Klasko Immigration Law Partners is
recognized worldwide as one of the leading
EB-5 immigration law firms.
www.klaskolaw.com
12
Regional Center Sponsored QSR Projects
The scenarios listed above have made way for regional center
sponsored QSRs. Regional center sponsorship allows the QSR
to determine job creation based on direct, indirect and induced
job creation. Capturing the jobs created from hard and soft
construction costs, tenant improvements, and furniture, fixtures
and fittings significantly increases the number of jobs a QSR can
create, the benefit being that these jobs will be deemed created
and credited to the investor upon completion of the construction,
improvement or purchase. An investor will no longer have to
worry about payroll in year six of operations, but can rather feel
safe that the jobs were created much earlier in the immigration
process. In addition, day-to-day operations no longer lie with the
investor or an operator hired by the investor. The investor can turn
to the project developer and rely on their expertise in managing
the QSR, with only policy making decisions left to the investor.
David Hirson
Nima Korpivaara
EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE
David Hirson is a managing
partner at David Hirson &
Partners, LLP. There he leads
a dedicated team of EB-5 legal
professionals to provide a full
scope of services for investors, projects, and
regional centers.
Nima Korpivaara is a partner
at David Hirson & Partners,
LLP. Prior to joining the firm,
Nima worked with David
Hirson at a previous law firm,
where he was an attorney on David’s EB-5 team.