How will over-staying a visa many years ago affect my chances to participate in the EB5 program?

Overstaying your visa combined with a false claim to U.S. citizenship may make you ineligible for an immigrant visa. Please speak to a qualified immigration attorney to assist you with your options.

The first step would be to retain an experienced EB-5 and immigration attorney. Based on the facts you present you would not be granted U.S. permanent residency. You may with the correct documentation apply for a temporary entry into the U.S., but not permanent.

This indiscretion may affect your ability to get Immigrant visa approval, but it will depend on other factors, such as whether you had been in removal proceeding and any other criminal check issues. Given how long ago this happened, you should see if you are qualified for any waiver. Please consult with an experienced immigration attorney with all the documentation.

It is important that you consult with a qualified immigration attorney. More information will be needed to know if you made a false claim to U.S. citizenship. Your over-stay appears as though it did not trigger the 10-year bar from readmission to the United States. The law that created the 10-year bar, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 or IIRIRA, became effective on April 1, 1997. Whether you are barred permanently for the false claim will depend on various factors that are best discussed with an EB-5 immigration attorney.

You really need to consult an immigration lawyer with detailed facts. The impersonality may or may not be a ground for inadmissibility, i.e. a reason to deny your green card application. False claim of U.S. citizenship is more complex that you thought

Based on your facts, impersonation of a U.S. citizen is considered a fraudulent act. It will negatively impact your chance of getting a green card through the EB-5 program. Also, if the money you plan to use for the EB-5 visa program comes from the U.S., the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will not consider your money to be from a lawful source. Thus, it is more likely that your application will be denied.

USCIS and DHS, in general, take a strong position against fraud, especially fraud directly related to immigration benefits (something like tax fraud is similar). You would definitely need the assistance of an immigration attorney to determine if, at all, you may have any kind of remedy.