EB5 Retrogression | Indian Applicants

Retrogression is the real elephant in the room. No one really understands what is happening and what may happen in the future. This article is aimed at providing clarity to naïve investors who are bothered with this complex issue.

At the outset, we, EB5 India Advisory Pvt. Ltd., can write down on a piece of paper that India will retrogress for sure. This is not something that may or may not happen; it is an event that will inevitably happen. While some may not say this openly because it means losing investors, but one would rather lose than lie! The reason why we are stressing on this is because investors often tend to suit their comforts when it comes to listening to probable future events. So when a person doesn’t want something to happen, then he will speculate the chances of it to not happen. That isn’t the best approach to life. And often advisors and regional centres have played a role in concealing the facts and misleading applicants. For the past some time, EB5 India Advisory Pvt. Ltd. has been mentoring each and every single prospective applicant that there will be a backlog for every investor who applies henceforth. While this truth may hurt a few people and we may lose a few clients, but so be it; that is far better than not sharing the fact just with the hope of getting more work.

The question now is what happens if retrogression comes in? The simple and straightforward answer without going into the statistics of current pending applications at the NVC, and the expected increase in it, is that you will have to wait for a minimum of 3 years in order to get your I-526 approved, i.e. the provisional green card. Naturally this means that your funds will remain stuck-up for a longer period of time. If any project is committing to you that they will return the funds in 2, 3 or even 5 years, that is a clear lie. Not on earth is that possible. In fact, it is so much not possible that EB5EXPERT.IN doesn’t mind taking legal responsibility for apprehending that IT IS NOT POSSIBLE and innocent investors would never otherwise realise this truth.

The problem of retrogression is not just with the money being stuck for a longer period. The real issue is that applicants who have children (even if one of them) above the age of 19 will age out and which means that the child who was in fact the main reason for doing EB5 would not be eligible for getting the green card.

Within the possibility of retrogression, there are multiple permutation-combinations possible. So for example, you are an applicant residing in India as on the date of filing your I-526 petition. Your son or daughter let’s presume is studying in the States. Given that you have got your I-526 approval, one would apply for Consulate Processing (CP). Within that, there are two possibilities. Lead applicant can do the CP, and let the child subsequently do Adjustment of Status (AOS). But this leads to more wait period. So a better way would be to spend US$ 1,500 on a flight ticket and let the child visit India and do the CP at consulate in India rather than adjusting the status subsequently locally in USA. If you are being told by any crook that they will expedite the CP backlog for you, it is an outright lie.

EB5 FAST PROJECTS

EB5 expedited processing is talk of the town. Everything is being done left and right to bring in more people it seems.

Fast track petitions are placed on two different footings (each of them on a totally separate trajectory although both leading nearly to the same outcome if successful):

• Expedited I-526 adjudication request - Investor driven expedition
• Expedited I-526 adjudication request - Project driven expedition

In the first category above, USCIS would review every single request on a case-by-case basis and approvals are granted solely at the discretion of the adjudicating officer. The burden is on the petitioner to demonstrate that one or more of the following criteria have been met so as to permit a fast track adjudication:

• Severe financial loss to company or person;
• Emergency situation;
• Humanitarian reasons;
• Non-profit organization whose request is in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States;
• Matter of national interest;
• USCIS error; or
• Compelling interest of USCIS

In the second possibility, project driven expedition, the entire project may be granted a special status that enables USCIS to clear all the petitions of that project on an expedited basis. There is too much of frenzy at the moment with “fast track approval”. The important piece of information missing here is that “only I-526 adjudication can be expedited, and not the time taken for an applicant to obtain a date for his Consulate Processing or Adjustment of Status, as the case is”. Let’s take an example here: Mr. X filed his I-526 petition on 15th November, 2018 under expedition. It may be likely that he will positively get his I-526 adjudication cleared by 28th Feb, 2018. However, this doesn’t mean that he will be able to get his consulate processing cleared on a fast track basis. That is NEVER possible, not even if you belong to the Trump family. What essentially would happen with Mr. X is that he would get his I-526 cleared but he still has to remain in the 3 to 4 year long queue for getting his CP cleared at the Delhi or Mumbai consulate. A simpler example of this situation is that Mr. X got his car but wouldn’t have the eligibility to fuel it. One would rather wait a little more and get a new car with fuel instead of getting one and waiting for 3 years before he could really drive it. This is a harsh truth which many gullible applicants are not aware of. But that is how the EB-5 industry operates, and if there is one thing that EB5EXPERT.IN aspires to achieve, then it is the fact that investors must be mentored with truth.

For any questions that you may have, feel free to consult with us.