Investment Immigration Law

About Investment Immigration Law

Q&A: Would I be able to pay the reduced college tuition of a state resident for my child’s education?

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This is a common question. For many of my clients, allowing their children to go to school in the United States—often at the university level—is a big priority, and one of their primary goals in pursuing immigration benefits.  When deciding if the EB-5 program is right for them and their family, one of the first things they want to know is whether they will be able to pay the reduced college tuition of a state resident.

In America’s university system, state residents pay significantly lower tuition than non-residents. The difference between resident tuition and non-resident tuition can be considerable. For example, at any University of California, undergraduate students who are non-residents of California pay an additional $10,000 per semester. Over the course of four years, that’s $80,000!

EB-5 visa holders—I’m happy to say—can qualify for the lower resident university tuition, as long as they live in the state for at least a year before the student begins school. The reason why the EB-5 program can qualify you for state residency highlights the essential difference between the EB-5 program and other avenues to U.S. immigration. And here’s the reason: the EB-5 visa isn’t really a visa, technically speaking. The EB-5 program gives investors and their families Green Cards, making them legal residents of the United States.

 

Why I Believe in the EB-5 Program

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Unlike so much of U.S. immigration policy and immigration law, which is fraught with absurd catch-22’s and bureaucratic black holes, the EB-5 visa program actually makes sense in a profound way. And it works!

The EB-5 program creates wealth and opportunity for both foreign investors and American citizens.

  • It provides foreign investors with an opportunity for a return on their investments; it gives the investors and their families full immigration benefits, including access the U.S. educational system;
  • It helps revitalize regional economies in the United States. The benefits of EB-5 investments to the U.S. economy are not abstract; they create real jobs for real people, in areas that are most in need of economic support;
  • And it changes the lives of the investors and their families, who can enjoy the many benefits of living and working in the United States.

I also believe that the EB-5 program is an opportunity to deepen the partnership between China and the United States. Our world is changing rapidly, and the pace of change seems only to be quickening. An increasingly global economy means profound interconnectedness and interdependence between all countries. We benefit from each others successes and we suffer each other’s hardships. The more we take this to heart—the more we change our laws and economic policies to reflect this interconnectedness—the better our chances of creating a world of prosperity and opportunity. The success of worldwide global economy is about cooperation. And nowhere is this more crucial than between two of the world’s most powerful nations: China and the United States.

Who Administers the EB-5 Program? A word about USCIS and its history

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Currently, a federal agency called “USCIS” is in charge of administering the EB-5 visa program. USCIS stands for “United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.” It is one of the United States’ current immigration agencies.

The former U.S. immigration agency, the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Services), no longer exists. After September 11th, the U.S. government underwent a significant restructuring in an effort to more efficiently combat terrorism and ensure preparedness for natural disasters.

This restructuring created an entirely new department of the federal government: the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In March of 2003, the Department of Homeland Security absorbed the former INS and split its responsibilities between two new agencies: the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

From a certain perspective, dividing the functions of immigration enforcement and administering programs like EB-5 between different agencies makes sense. They require two very different mentalities. The goal of the EB-5 program, after all, is about bringing qualified investors into the United States, rather than keeping illegal immigrants out.

When these functions were combined under the former INS, it had a fairly predictable result. The requirements of the EB-5 were made more difficult to satisfy and, as a consequence, it was harder for foreigners to get a visa and the program failed to strengthen the economy to the degree that U.S. lawmakers had hoped.

Fortunately, qualified foreign investors now have a fair, flexible path to permanent residency.

The Security and Peace of Mind of Escrow

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In my experience, there are two concerns that stand out in the minds of immigrant investors: the success of their application an the security of their investment.

The arrangement of escrow, offered by a few regional centers—NobleOutreach and CMB Export among them—goes a long way towards answering both of these concerns.

No EB-5 applicant wants to make the required investment, see it lose value, and then have their Green Card application denied. Escrow ensures that this could never happen.

If you are not familiar with the term, escrow is a legal arrangement according to which a person’s assets can be held by a trusted third party—often a bank—until the terms of an contract are satisfied, at which point the third party will transfer the assets to whomever the contract designates. In other words, the EB-5 investor signs a contract with the regional center, which says that, once the investor’s I-526 application is approved in the United States, the funds will be transferred to the regional center and fully invested in the approved business enterprise. If, on the other hand, USCIS denies the application, the funds will be returned to the investor.

One of the best things about this arrangement is that it still satisfies the “at risk” requirement of the EB-5 program. For the investors who work with a regional center that offers escrow, this makes for a more secure application process.

What Makes California Special

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In my last post, I shared the reasons why Patrick Hogan–President of CMB Export–decided to create a regional center in California. One of those reasons was that California is considered a “destination” and a desirable place to live within the United States. Having lived in California nearly all my life, it’s pretty clear to me why this is so.

For one, there is no such thing as an “average Californian.” California also has the largest Asian population in the United States—5 million as of July 1, 2006—just over a quarter of whom are Chinese, the state’s biggest Asian minority.

California also boasts some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the world, including Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UCLA and others. There’s also far more to choose from: nearly 400 colleges, the most of any state.

California includes an amazing array of climate types and geographical features. California is also one of only a small handful of places in the world that have a Mediterranean climate, similar to those countries on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

California has an enormously productive and diverse economy. Though estimates vary, California—if it were a nation of its own—would have one of the 10 largest economies in the world. Of course, it is also the home of Hollywood, the world’s epicenter of film and television. And the high tech “Silicon Valley,” located in Southern California, is the nation’s leading producer of computer hardware and software.

For all its richness, it’s no wonder that aspiring immigrants to the United States regard California as one of the most desirable places to live.

 

Topics

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The Ideas Behind Regional Center CMB Export

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