On March 16, 2024, EB5AN hosted an in-person site visit at its Twin Lakes Georgia rural EB-5 project. Twin Lakes is a single-family home community for active adults near Atlanta, Georgia.
Over 50 EB-5 investors, immigration attorneys, promoters, and other industry professionals turned out for this informative event. The site visit gave attendees a valuable opportunity to witness Twin Lakes’ construction progress, build quality, and world-class amenities.
Attendees also met with EB5AN’s managing partners and got firsthand answers to their questions about the Twin Lakes project and the EB-5 program.
This site visit is our latest effort to promote transparency in the EB-5 industry and enable EB-5 investors to make informed decisions.
While in-person site visits to EB-5 projects are relatively rare, EB5AN believes that investors should be able to learn as much as possible about a project—and even visit the site themselves—before committing their funds.
Overview of the Twin Lakes Site Visit
The Importance of In-Person Site Visits for EB-5 Investors
Learn More About the EB-5 Program and the Twin Lakes Project
Overview of the Twin Lakes Site Visit
Attendees arrived at the Twin Lakes community in the early afternoon and began the day’s events with a tour of the 15 model homes. The model homes showcase the impressive variety and customization options available to Twin Lakes’ homebuyers. These fully furnished units gave prospective investors a chance to gauge the community’s build quality and appeal to active-adult homebuyers.
Then, the tour moved on to several of the amenities, including the largest pickleball facility in the state of Georgia. With 21 courts now available, Twin Lakes plans to expand the pickleball facility to 40 courts. The “Eagle’s Nest” spectator pavilion gives residents a comfortable space to watch the pickleball matches.
Attendees also visited Club Cresswind, the Twin Lakes community’s state-of-the-art clubhouse. Club Cresswind provides residents with multiple event spaces, an indoor swimming pool, an arts-and-crafts facility, and a high-tech SmartFIT Training Center with EGYM equipment.
Attendees also took in the project’s pristine natural setting which includes several walking trails and two lakes—all about an hour away from Atlanta.
After the tour of the Twin Lakes property, EB5AN’s managing partners Sam Silverman and Mike Schoenfeld answered questions about the Twin Lakes project and topics of interest for EB-5 investors. Some of the leading immigration attorneys in the EB-5 industry were in attendance and provided their expertise on source-of-funds documentation.
This event also gave the EB-5 professionals in attendance a valuable space to network with their colleagues.
The Importance of In-Person Site Visits for EB-5 Investors
EB-5 investors have two basic goals: (1) immigrate successfully and get U.S. Green Cards and (2) get a timely return on their invested funds.
To achieve both of these goals, EB-5 investors must learn as much as possible about an EB-5 project before investing. Investors need to find out whether the project will have enough capital to create at least 10 jobs per EB-5 investor, as this is the main requirement to get U.S. Green Cards.
In addition, investors need to consider each project’s financials and potential to generate strong sales. Will the project be financially successful enough to repay its EB-5 investors promptly?
While reading a project’s offering documents is key, in-person site visits offer a unique way to evaluate an EB-5 project’s trustworthiness.
Site visits allow investors to directly assess the project’s location and surrounding area more closely than through photos, videos, or descriptions alone. Understanding the geographical context and demographic characteristics of the location can help investors understand the project’s market potential and likelihood of success.
In addition, investors can also use site visits to evaluate the project’s build quality, infrastructure, and development progress in real time. This hands-on approach allows for a detailed inspection of materials, construction standards, and the overall quality of the workmanship.
Direct communication and interaction with the regional center operators, project staff, and development team are another benefit of visiting an EB-5 project. Meeting a project’s team in person allows investors to ask specific questions and obtain immediate, clear responses. These interactions promote transparency and trust.
Learn More About the EB-5 Program and the Twin Lakes Project
At EB5AN, our goal is for investors to get a clear view of the benefits and risks involved in potential EB-5 projects before committing their funds. By organizing site visits to our projects, sharing our projects’ financial and offering documents, and encouraging investors to ask questions, we help our EB-5 investors make informed decisions.
Evaluating EB-5 projects is especially important in light of the upcoming fee increases announced by USCIS for April 1, 2024. On this date, USCIS will triple the filing fees for I-526E petitions. EB-5 investors can save approximately $8,000 by filing their I-526E petitions before April 1.
As of January 2024, the Twin Lakes project has already created over 3,000 qualifying EB-5- jobs. From a financial standpoint, Twin Lakes has sold 612 homes as of February 2024 and is already profitable. This makes it an exceptionally safe option for EB-5 investors.
For further information about the EB-5 process, preparing to file Form I-526E, and the Twin Lakes project, schedule a free consultation with EB5AN.
