Why do American media say that the American dream may be broken at any time?

65438+ 10 4 days ago, the United States published an article saying that with the younger and younger international students, the family economic situation is getting more and more solid, and many parents of students choose the investment immigration method for their children and strive to get the American green card as soon as possible. However, in recent years, investment immigration cases have occurred frequently. At the end of 20 17, EB-5 class action lawsuit broke out with the largest number and the largest amount in American history. This is undoubtedly a wake-up call for international students who want to invest and immigrate to the United States.

20 17, 165438+ 10, 17, more than 100 China applicants living in EB-5 American Investment Immigration Project (SLS Hotel) in Orange County, California, entrusted lawyers to formally file a case in the California High Court in Orange County, and collectively sued the American Dream Fund (or The incident involved nearly 800 immigrant families from China, and the related investment reached US$ 400 million. It is the largest class action lawsuit of EB-5 project for American investment immigrants in history.

According to the indictment, the requirements of the plaintiff EB-5 immigrant investors include ADF's alleged breach of trust duties, alleged illegal fraud, and mistakes. Therefore, the plaintiff demanded that the management right of ADF fund be removed, the project manager of SLS hotel be removed, the financial report be transparent, and the losses of investors be compensated.

After receiving the bankruptcy reorganization email in August of that year, an investor left a message on social media saying, "This is a nightmare. The first letter I received from ADF was a bankruptcy reorganization letter. Suddenly told us that EB-5 investor hotel went bankrupt and reorganized, and the auction price was 65.438+85 billion, which happened to be the money of the first creditor Mesa Bank. No funds were left for EB-5 investors, and no dregs were left. In other words, nearly 280 million assets disappear every year. "

International students applying for investment immigration are also at risk.

China students at the graduation ceremony of Columbia University on May 17 local time. On that day, new york Columbia University held a graduation ceremony on campus, and more than15,000 students graduated. China News Service reporter Liao Panshe

China students at the graduation ceremony of Columbia University on May 20 17, local time. China News Service reporter Liao Panshe

Indeed, in recent years, more and more parents of students choose to invest in immigration for their children and strive to stay in the United States as soon as possible. There are several different situations for the approved EB-5 investment immigration application of international students.

1. International students who have studied for master's or doctoral degrees in the United States.

Most of these international students hold F- 1 status to study for master's or doctoral degrees in American universities. In order to improve their competitiveness in the American labor market, they applied for a green card through EB-5 investment immigration during their study. This kind of applicants are self-centered applicants. After obtaining the approval of the Immigration Bureau, they apply to adjust their status in the United States and submit an I-485 application.

2. International students studying in undergraduate, high school or junior high school in the United States.

Many of these international students are under 2 1 year old, and their parents submitted their applications before their children's 2 1 birthday. This kind of application for international students takes parents as the main applicants and themselves as family members. Although these applicants also hold F- 1 or J- 1 status to study in the United States legally, because their parents are the main applicants, and they are in China, most of them need to go back to China to attend the immigration visa interview between the US Consulate in China and the main applicants.

Parents want their children to study in America at some time.

Many parents want to arrange for their children to attend middle schools or universities in the United States at a specific time. Parents in China want their children to study in the United States as green cards, so that they can have a better chance to enter first-class educational institutions and receive education on an equal footing with American students. Therefore, apply for EB-5 investment immigration before your child goes to study in the United States.

4. Single parent EB-5 investment immigrants

In fact, single-parent investment immigrants are not investors, but a different form of investment immigration planning. For example, children only apply for EB-5 investment immigration with their mothers. Due to business and tax considerations of China Company, my father did not apply for EB-5 investment immigration for his spouse and children. Some of the family members' applications for investment immigration were successfully approved.

With the rapid increase in the number of China students studying in the United States applying for green cards through EB-5 investment immigration in recent years, many international students who want to stay through investment immigration and their parents have also become the targets of fraudsters: a female student from China who has obtained a master's degree but wants to legally stay in the United States applies for investment immigration to the California Investment Immigration Fund in San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles. However, in this fraud case, the number of victims reached 100, and the amount involved exceeded 50 million US dollars. I'm afraid the 550 thousand dollars paid by that female student will be in vain.

How to prevent fraud? Lawyer introduces the application procedure of EB-5 investment immigration in the United States

EB-5 investment immigrants include basic direct investment immigrants and regional center project investment immigrants. The biggest difference between the two is that direct investment immigrants need investors to create their own companies and manage their own operating income; The investment mode of the regional center is to invest the funds in the projects recommended by the regional center approved by the Immigration Bureau or its agent, become a partner or shareholder (limited investor) of a project, and entrust the regional center or its project manager with full authority to operate and manage the investment projects.

Both of them have minimum investment limits, including immigrant investors investing $6,543,800+in the United States to start new businesses, or $500,000 in target employment areas such as remote villages with high unemployment rate or sparse population.

For direct investment investors, it is required to create jobs and directly employ more than 10 full-time American employees within two years after the I-526 application form is approved. Investors who invest in the regional center project need to prove that the regional center is operated according to the business plan approved by the Immigration Bureau. If you meet the requirements of the Immigration Bureau, you can apply for a permanent resident green card after two years.

According to lawyer Wang Jing of Los Angeles, the general steps of EB-5 investment immigration application include:

First, I-526 form of "Application Form for Foreign Entrepreneurs to Invest in Immigration" is submitted to the Immigration Bureau. The attachment includes the legal proof of the required investment funds, business plan and other supporting documents, and the application fee is 1500 USD. It takes six months to one year for the Immigration Bureau to process the application.

Second, apply for identity adjustment. After I-526 is approved, the applicant can start to apply for a "conditional green card", that is, a temporary green card, and submit an application form I-485 for adjusting the identity to the Immigration Bureau. The trial process takes about 6 to 12 months. Applicants who are not in the United States must apply for an immigrant visa and conduct an immigrant visa interview and identity adjustment at the American consulate. Once approved, you can get a temporary green card for two years, which enjoys the same functions as a permanent green card. Immediate family members (including spouses and unmarried children under 2 1 year old) can apply for identity adjustment at the same time.

Finally, apply for a permanent green card. Within 90 days before the expiration of the two-year temporary green card, the applicant submits the I-829 application form "Foreign entrepreneurs request exemption from conditional identity application" to the Immigration Bureau. The processing time is six months to one year, and the cost is 3750 dollars. If the applicant meets all the relevant requirements of the Immigration Bureau for EB-5 investment immigration, I-829 will be approved and get a permanent green card to become a legal permanent resident of the United States.

EB-5 investment immigrant applicants generally need three and a half to four years from the beginning of application to getting a permanent green card.

As for how to avoid the trap, Zhang Jun, a Chinese lawyer in Los Angeles, said that no matter how to invest in any project, 100% insurance investment does not exist: "In fact, American investment immigration law requires that investment must be venture capital. Therefore, when someone tells us that there is no risk or zero risk, it is not in line with the spirit of the US investment immigration law. Some investors may say that they don't want to take care of anything, just pay for a green card. The problem is that there is no such situation in the United States, and green cards are not sold. "

Therefore, if international students want to apply for investment immigration, they need to know more through professional channels in advance, and it is best to invest and operate directly by themselves. This avoids many disputes and conflicts. Otherwise, it will cost more time, energy and money in the end, which is not worth the candle.