Would the sale of existing commercial property qualify for the EB-5 Program?

That would not qualify. Call me to discuss the details.

It is likely that this would not qualify for EB5, as the employment in the commercial property already exists, and thus will not be *created *by the EB5 investment. You may be able to get around this if the commercial property is a "troubled business" in which case you would be *saving *jobs with EB5 funds, which is acceptable by statute. You should contact an EB5 specialist so they can examine the specific facts and circumstances regarding this specific commercial property. You may also have "Tenant Occupancy" issues to overcome, assuming you could classify the property as a" troubled" business.

You need to make an investment which creates 10 new jobs. Selling a company does not do that.

Thank you for your question. Some properties do qualify for the EB5 investor as long as they are able to support at least 10 employees for 2 years.
We can discuss this further is you wish.

No it would not qualify.

Thank you for the inquiry. The USCIS has been rather contentious on ''tenant occupancy'' issues and has challenged all new tenants to determine the creation of a new job opportunity for US workers by requiring a feasibility study to accompany all applications. Your matter is actually worse in that the jobs and tenants are already in place and thus no new jobs are contemplated.

On the surface it looks that it would. But I need to know much more details to be able to answer with certainly. I need to know the details of the commercial property, how the investor is planning to purchase the property, how he would plan to operate it, etc.

EB-5 program is designed as a job creation vehicle, not merely as an investment program. EB-5 program requires that an investor make $1 million or more ($500,00, if the investment enterprise is in TEA) in investment into a ?new business enterprise? and that business must create 10 full-time, permanent jobs. The investment also must be an active investment rather than passive one. Thus, just purchasing an existing real estate property and owning that property as an passive investment for you to earn high return, will not qualify as EB-5 investment.

Always seek the services of a qualified EB-5 attorney for advise , analysis, and direction. The first question is whether the existing commercial property is already an active business. Hence how active is it ? What is the revenue , number of employees , is it profitable or negative cash flows etc. To qualify for an EB-5 visa one must show that as a result of the EB-5 invest must funds the required number of jobs were created.There are rules related to the type of business the foreign national investor is investing in. For instance one must determine if this commercial property is a Troubled business or an active business which requires the hiring of more direct employees. On the assumption this will be a direct EB-5 investment the 10 direct jobs will need to be created, only on the basis of whether it is a TROUBLED or ACTIVE business.

Generally, buying a commercial property alone will not qualify the investor for an EB-5 visa. The core of the EB-5 program is to create jobs. However, if after buying a commercial property, the investor operates a new commercial business there and creates 10 additional jobs, the investor may qualify for an EB-5 visa.

The EB-5 requirements are as follows:
1. All EB-5 investors must invest in a new commercial enterprise;

2. All EB-5 investors must create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers within two years (or under certain circumstances, within a reasonable time after the two-year period) of the immigrant investor’s admission to the United States as a Conditional Permanent Resident.

3. The minimum qualifying investment in the United States is $1 million, unless the investment is made in a targeted employment area.

Buying a commercial property alone will not automatically qualify the investor for an EB-5 visa. The core of the EB-5 program is to create jobs. Your scenario is more like a direct EB-5 case, then, only the direct jobs can be counted. Direct jobs are actual identifiable jobs for qualified employees located within the commercial enterprise into which the EB-5 investor has directly invested his or her capital. In addition, the investment must create 10 new jobs in addition to the existing jobs unless the business can be qualified as a troubled business. A troubled business is an enterprise that has been in existence for at least two years and has incurred a net loss during the 12- or 24-month period prior to the priority date on the immigrant investor’s Form I-526. If the business is a troubled business, 10 jobs should be preserved. Due to the complexity of the issue, please consult an EB-5 attorney to better address your questions.

The EB-5 investor must put his/her investment at financial risk and account for 10 US workers that he or she hires. This means the investor would have to own the stores and hire the workers.

No, you will qualify because you are not creating new jobs. You need a project that involves some form of development or renovation where you can show that jobs are created.

The money from the sale could be used to invest in a new commercial enterprise and qualify for EB-5 provided the new enterprise creates 10 direct jobs from the investment. Whether that existing project would count depends on what the investor put into the project (not what it is selling for now) and whether 10 new jobs were created as a result of the investment.

It could qualify if the acquirer structured it correctly and was able to create (or in some instances, save jobs). Many EB-5 deals involve the acquisition of property (which is, of course, almost always owned by someone else). The trick is that if much of the money is spent to acquire and no jobs are being actually created, it may be difficult to use EB-5.

The investment has to be in a USCIS approved regional center.