What happens to my investment if my I-526 is approved but my immigrant visa is denied?

The denial of a visa after the consular process is based on your inadmissibility into the United States. The return of funds is governed by the limited partnership agreement signed between the investor and the EB-5 project. Often, the investment is deposited in an escrow account and released upon approval of the I-526 petition.

How, when, and what conditions warrant a refund are contingent upon each individual offering. Review the offering and ask the issuer these questions to ensure you are able to get the money back, should something like this happen.

Yes, you should be able to get your money back if your immigrant visa is denied. To ensure you get your money back, make sure you read and sign an agreement that provides that your money will be returned in the event you are unable to obtain an immigrant visa. A lot of investors always watch for this specific occurrence by ensuring their money is kept in an escrow account until their visa is approved. Get good legal advice by consulting an EB-5 immigration attorney who can watch for your interest in this regard.

The I-526 approval will remain valid, and you can make another attempt at obtaining conditional permanent residency through the U.S. Consulate. Refunds will depend on the regional center into which you invest, so it is very important to retain U.S. immigration counsel to review all documentation for immigration risks and consequences.

There are a variety of provisions outlined in the relevant offering documents for such scenarios. In most cases, the subscription agreement will stipulate that barring any misrepresentation/fraud on the part of the investor, the capital contribution will be fully returned alongside a portion of the administrative fee. Some offering documents will condition such returns upon the developer's ability to substitute the denied investor with another investor. Other offering documents could even stipulate that the funds will remain invested for the term of the loan agreement. The latter is an extreme case. I strongly recommend that you seek the assistance of an immigration attorney to conduct due diligence on the project documents. I would be happy to offer you a complimentary consultation to further discuss.

First of all, this is a rare occurrence. The denial of your immigrant visa after your I-526 approval would most likely result from a personal ground of inadmissibility or ineligibility on your part. The grounds of inadmissibility relate to serious contagious diseases, criminal convictions, or previous immigration problems, such as previous removal from the United States or making a material misrepresentation on a previous visa application, among other grounds. If you do not have any of these problems, then it is extremely unlikely your immigrant visa would be denied. On the other hand, if you are concerned, you should carefully read all of the agreements first or better yet, have an attorney read them, explain them to you and advise you on the matter.

It depends on the agreement you sign with the specific regional center. Most regional centers would return the investment and some would refund a portion of the administrative fee you paid.

Your investment is at risk and depends upon the terms of the individual investment.

This will depend on the terms of the subscription. In most cases, full commitment of the invested funds is predicated on the filing of an I-526 Petition with provision for a refund or a substitute investor if the I-526 is denied. It is therefore important to work with an experienced immigration attorney so as to fully understand the terms of a subscription and avoid unpleasant surprises later.

I hope all is well. If you invest in a regional center, each regional center has a policy of refunding your funds if your immigrant visa is denied. However, if your immigrant visa is denied because your are deemed inadmissible to the United States, most regional centers will not refund your investment. That is why it is imperative that you meet with an immigration attorney before you make your investment to determine if you will be eligible. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

In many EB-5 immigrant investor visa cases, the invested funds can be held in escrow conditioned on the I-526 Petition being approved. If you have issues in your personal history which prevent you from becoming a permanent resident in the United States (either health related or criminal conviction history, etc), then you need to anticipate this before you file the petition or even before you consider the EB-5 processing. There are waivers that can be filed and actions that can be taken prior to filing.

You need to read the offering documents that are sent to you by the regional center. Many will mention how they will handle the refund in case of a visa denial. If it is not mentioned, be sure to ask the regional center and document their response.

The investment is a real-world investment, which means putting money at risk. It would be up to you to contractually arrange with one or more third parties (such as the seller of a business) for contingencies.

Your investment principal can be returned to you if your conditional permanent residency is denied. You need to make sure this stipulation is covered by the security offering documents. However, after you have obtained your conditional permanent residency, your investment principal has to be entirely at risk, and if the business fails, you may lose the investment funds.

That depends on the agreement you entered with whomever you are investing with. It is your money and you should be entitled to it back.

The terms of whether an investor may receive a refund of an EB-5 qualifying investment should be governed by a relevant subscription agreement. A prospective investor may therefore wish to have that agreement reviewed by counsel to ensure that its provisions provide for a refund in the event of visa denial, if that is of importance to him/her.