The I-829 Petition is arguably the most important stage of the EB-5 process. It's the part of the process where an EB-5 investor's visa conditions are removed. Are you ready for the I-829 petition stage?
To get ready for the I-829 petition stage you need to learn about EB-5 compliance and prepare well in advance.
As the number of EB-5 applicants increase year after year so do the number of regional centers. These regional centers, and particularly the new ones that have never filed I-829s before, have the heavy task on their hands when it comes to preparing for the I-829 petition stage.
Here are a few basic EB-5 compliance tips to assist regional centers with the tedious I-829 stage:
- Start preparation early!
Don't wait until right before the I-829 petition deadline to prepare. The best time for collecting the necessary documents is before any investors are approved for the EB-5 project. Additionally, when the I-829 petition stage does begin, EB-5 investors are given individual windows in which to file, meaning that most likely a regional center's investors will have staggered filing dates. To get each investor's I-829 filed in a timely manner (preferably early!) a regional center must prepare early.
- Figure out who will prepare the paperwork.
Will you hire a law firm to handle the process? Or does your regional center team do everything in house? Decide early so that you can prepare well in advance.
- What do you need to track?
A regional center will need to track each EB-5 applicants flow of funds from their home country to an escrow account and finally to the new commercial enterprise project. Then they must show proof that the funds stayed in the new commercial enterprise during the entire EB-5 process. The next stage for a regional center is to track and document the project's construction and job creation.
- Prove job creation!
In order for EB-5 investors to successfully obtain their green cards they must prove that they created 10 full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers at the I-829 petition stage. They do that when the regional center submits their economic report to USCIS. This economic report uses expenditures, revenue and figures to show that direct, indirect and induced jobs were created. 