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If you are considering an EB-5 investment visa, you will likely be making many decisions that will affect your family’s future for years to come. One of these will be which family members you will take with you to the U.S. as you start your business.
What investors need to know about bringing spouses and children to the U.S. with an EB-5 visa:
- Husbands and wives. Legal spouses of investors may accompany or follow an investor who has been granted conditional permanent residence. Spouses under common -law marriages may not be admitted.
- Children. All children with EB-5 visas must be under the age of 21 and unmarried. If a child marries or becomes 21 before being admitted to the U.S., he or she may not be eligible to accompany the investor.
- Step-children. An investor’s step-children (who are single and under age 21) may join the investor in the U.S. provided the investor has sufficiently established step-parentage before the investor is granted conditional permanent residence.
The USCIS does provide U.S. residence for family members who have undergone life changes while maintaining lawful permanent resident status. In some circumstances, children who turn 21-years-old or get married while holding a conditional green card may be eligible to remove conditions on their visa under the investor’s I-829 petition.
Similarly, divorced spouses of admitted investors who have conditional permanent resident status may attain full residency by filing a separate I-829 petition. However, applicants in these cases must meet a certain qualifying conditions set forth by USCIS. If they are found ineligible, the child or divorced spouse may be placed in removal proceedings and forced to depart the United States.
It is understandable that you would want your family to travel with you to the U.S., or if that is not is not permitted, to join you as soon as possible. At Jatoi & de Kirby, APC, our immigration attorneys offer investors assistance with each phase of the process, from filing forms and paying fees to transitioning your family’s green cards into U.S. citizenship.
Call us today at (415) 969-6834, and click the link on this page for a FREE copy of our informational guide, Investor's Path to a Green Card: How Investing in America Can Put You and Your Family on the Path to Greater Wealth and U.S. Permanent Residency.
