English 
Chinese 
French 
German 
Japanese 
Korean 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
EB-5 Services: Investors
Your EB-5 Journey, Backed by Proven Expertise
From initial project selection to permanent residency, CLP guides EB-5 investors through every stage of the process with deep knowledge, trusted counsel, and a steady hand. The EB-5 process is intricate—marked by shifting legal standards, complex documentation, and high stakes for your family’s future. We’ve helped thousands of investors safely navigate these waters, anticipating challenges and steering through them with care and clarity.
What We Do For EB-5 Investors
Secure Your EB-5 Petition
Transition to Residency
Get Permanent Green Card
I-526E Petition: Launching the EB-5 Journey
Careful documentation of your source and path of funds as well as review of the EB-5 project’s compliance with USCIS eligibility requirements are keys to EB-5 investors’ success over the multi-year EB-5 journey.
CLP works with investor clients and trusted migration agents to ensure that the source and path of funds documentation is compliant with the latest USCIS policy and interpretations. Adjudication results are never guaranteed and similar cases can have different outcomes, resulting in inherent risk and unpredictability. For that reason, we stay close to trends, policy guidance, and adhere to the letter of EB-5 law, regulations, policy and other authority to maximize our clients’ chance of success at every stage. Our twenty-year leadership in the EB-5 bar and industry allow us to evaluate each client’s case against the backdrop of that experience, ensuring that every case has the benefit of our deep understanding of EB-5 law, our fastidious regard to compliance, and always, our interest in putting our clients’ success first.
On the project review side, we coordinate with the project team to gather all necessary offering documents, including the full I-956F filing package. We do not rely on the simple fact of I-956F filing for our EB-5 investor clients’ cases to proceed with a particular project. Even where a project has received I-956F approval, we proceed with our due diligence and document review, knowing that any errors in adjudication may be reopened at a later stage, affecting investors’ cases.
Our project diligence includes review of the applicable set-aside visa categories where applicable (rural, high-unemployment, infrastructure) to check that the lower investment threshold is appropriately selected.
We go well beyond basic paperwork—we’re known for identifying and resolving issues proactively to support a clean, approvable I-526E.
Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing: Seeking Residency
Once your I-526E petition is approved—or concurrently filed, if eligible—you may take the next step toward becoming a U.S. permanent resident.
This happens through one of two paths:
Adjustment of Status (Form I-485 or “AOS”)
If you’re already in the United States in a valid non-immigrant status (such as F-1, H-1B, L-1, E-2), you may be eligible to adjust your status without leaving the country. CLP helps you:
- Gather required documentation (medical exam, proof of status, etc.)
- Obtain EAD (work permit) and advance parole (travel authorization)
- Renew your EAD and advance parole applications
- Accommodate a change in family make-up if you marry or have a child during the AOS process
- Prepare for a potential USCIS interview
- Maintain compliance during the AOS process
Understanding Immigration and Nationality Act section 245(k): A Safety Net for EB-5 Investors
INA § 245(k) offers a powerful—but often overlooked—form of relief for EB-5 investors adjusting status in the U.S. Newly permitted under the RIA, it provides forgiveness for certain periods of unauthorized stay or unauthorized employment, as long as they do not exceed 180 days in total since your last lawful admission.
This provision can protect investors who:
- Inadvertently fell out of status before filing
- Worked without authorization briefly, usually unintentionally
- Experienced SEVIS I-20 termination
- Experienced delays or lapses in maintaining their underlying nonimmigrant status
CLP carefully analyzes your immigration history to determine if § 245(k) applies—and uses it, when appropriate, to preserve your eligibility for adjustment without needing to depart the U.S.
Principal Attorney Carolyn Lee: “We view section 245(k) relief as a critical part of a smart, protective AOS strategy for our clients, especially in uncertain times. It has come to the rescue of many of our F-1 and H-1B investor clients.”
Consular Processing (Form DS-260) – If You’re Outside the U.S.
If you reside abroad or prefer to complete your visa process throgh a U.S. consulate, CLP handles all aspects of consular processing:
- Completing and filing Form DS-260
- Submitting required civil documents to the National Visa Center (NVC)
- Coordinating the immigrant visa interview at the U.S. consulate in your country and preparing you for your interview
- Preparing you for consular procedures and follow-up.
This pathway ends with you entering the U.S. as a conditional permanent resident, ready to begin your new life with your family.
Concurrent AOS Filing: A Game-Changer Under the RIA
For the first time, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) brought the possibility for EB-5 investors in the U.S. to file the Form I-526E and Form I-485 concurrently—meaning you may obtain work and travel authorization within months of filing, rather than waiting for petition approval first. Concurrently filing AOS allows investors and their dependent family members to:
- Remain lawfully in the U.S. during adjudication
- Obtain Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and advance parole and renewals during AOS pendency
- Benefit from the freedom to work for any employer or not work at all under EAD work authorization
- Begin building their lives here while USCIS processes the case.
Important Note: As visa demand increases and backlogs emerge, the availability of concurrent filing may be affected by visa bulletin cut-off dates for high demand countries including Chin and India. CLP closely monitors these developments and counsels clients accordingly.
I-829 Petition: Removing Conditions and Achieving the Unconditional Green Card
In this final stage of the EB-5 journey, we guide investors through the Form I-829 to remove conditions on permanent residency. At this point, USCIS verifies that the required jobs were created and the investment remained sustained throughout the required period.
We help prepare the petition, ensure all project documentation is accurate and complete, and resolve any issues proactively—setting the stage for your family’s permanent future in the U.S.
Independent Project Review: Our Gold Standard for Investor Protection
It is with this critical last stage in mind that we review investor projects for EB-5 compliance at the outset—at the I-526/E stage. At CLP, we believe that responsible EB-5 investor representation requires independent, in-depth project review. Investors cannot afford to suffer project-related issues including I-956F denial.
Our EB-5 project review is focused on minimizing the chances of that occurring by looking for hidden landmines triggering nuanced and complex EB-5 adjudication standards from precedent decisions such as Matter of Izummi and Matter of Ho, often cited on project-related requests for evidence, notices of intent to deny, and denials. We also review project structure for appropriate use of bridge financing based on USCIS policy guidance. Our EB-5 project review includes:
- Project structure and job creation methodology
- TEA qualification and set-aside category alignment
- Use of investor funds and path to sustainment, keeping in mind the current flux in investment sustainment standards
- Ripeness of project in terms of presenting shovel-readiness
- Job creation timelines and bridge financing presentation
- Investment deployment structure to view for Matter of Izummi compliance
- Underlying investment term for potential redeployment scenarios
- Sufficiency of the I-956F business plan under current Matter of Ho application and standards
- USCIS adjudication trends and compliance red flags
This thorough analysis isn’t just theoretical—it reflects CLP principals’ decades of experience, our leadership in shaping EB-5 immigration policy, and a track record of successful case outcomes across a wide range of project types.
Choosing the right project is one of the most important decisions you will make in the EB-5 process. We take that responsibility seriously.
Why Choose CLP?
To summarize, we are trusted advisors in EB-5, advocates for your family’s future in the United States, and leaders in the EB-5 industry helping shape policy based on our clients’ experiences with the EB-5 program.
We put our experience and dedication into each EB-5 investor’s case, putting the benefit of our experience and leadership to back each client’s experience.
Ready to Begin Your EB-5 Journey? Our team members speak investment immigration in English, Portuguese, Chinese, and Turkish.
“Hiring Carolyn Lee PLLC was a decision that moved the needle on my immigration case. Carolyn’s empathy, professionalism, and network in the field proved to be invaluable in helping us overcome the challenges along the way.”