My name is Hardik Kholwadwala. I was born in India but lived in Canada for about 25 years before moving to the U.S. and making an EB-5 investment.
I recently received approval for my I-526E petition—in only 12 months. Now, my family and I are in line to receive our U.S. Green Cards and enjoy the benefits of permanent residency.
Additionally, my wife and I received employment authorization documents (EADs) and advance parole (AP) travel documents only 4 months after applying.
In this post, I’ll explain how my EB-5 investment allowed me to get the above immigration benefits so quickly.
I’ve noticed that many foreign nationals who are in the United States on temporary visas—as well as many living abroad—are looking for a permanent immigration solution.
The EB-5 visa may be the fastest way for you and your family to gain the freedom to live and work in the U.S. as permanent residents.
Watch Hardik’s Full Interview (Part 2)
My Background as an EB-5 Investor
Benefits of My EAD and AP (Work and Travel Permits)
Receiving My I-526E Approval in Only 12 Months
How to Get Started on the EB-5 Process
Why I Invested in EB5AN’s Twin Lakes Georgia Rural EB-5 Project
My #1 Advice for New EB-5 Investors
My Background as an EB-5 Investor
I decided to look into the EB-5 program mainly for work opportunities and to ensure my family could stay and work in the U.S. too. After graduating from college, I worked in Canada for about 10-15 years in the electrical engineering field, specifically in the utility sector.
While I had a good job, I saw limited growth opportunities there. The U.S. had a more diverse market where I could grow and explore different companies.
Whenever I applied for positions in the U.S., the first question was whether I was eligible to work there. While I could get a TN visa, it was only a temporary work permit.
I didn’t want to rely on temporary visas or company sponsorships. I wanted a more permanent solution that wouldn’t depend on getting visa stamps repeatedly.
I began looking into residency options that would help us stay in the U.S. permanently. There weren’t many options available, but the EB-5 program caught my attention. It offered a way to secure Green Cards for both myself and my family relatively quickly.
I started exploring the EB-5 program and found out about the Twin Lakes rural EB-5 project through EB5AN. The project seemed like a good fit, and I decided to invest.
Benefits of My EAD and AP (Work and Travel Permits)
I applied for EB-5 in mid-2023. I had travel plans, so my lawyer told me that once I applied for EB-5 and filed my I-485, I needed to stay in the country until it was approved. This meant I couldn’t leave the country without having to stop at the border and go through the immigration process every time.
To avoid this hassle, I applied for an EAD and travel permit in August and received them in December.
This allowed me to travel freely without these barriers. I was even able to visit my family in Canada and enjoy Christmas and New Year with them.
The EAD was crucial for me because it allowed me to work for any employer without sponsorship. If I felt at risk of losing my job or needed to find a new one, the EAD gave me the flexibility to work without restrictions.
For my spouse, the work and travel permits were even more beneficial. She was a stay-at-home mom when we moved from Canada to the U.S., and she couldn’t work in the U.S. initially.
However, once she received her EAD, she could start looking for work immediately. She wanted to continue her career, and the EAD gave her that opportunity. Within a month of returning from our trip to Canada, she was already looking for work.
In our experience, the job opportunities in the U.S. are more abundant and offer better pay and flexibility compared to Canada.
Receiving My I-526E Approval in Only 12 Months
Before my I-526E approval, I followed the Twin Lakes project closely. I saw that the fastest approval for a Twin Lakes investor took about nine months. I started calculating when my nine and a half months would be up, eagerly anticipating my approval. Every day, I checked an app that updated me on my case without logging into the USCIS website.
One morning, while on a trip to Mexico, I received a notification. It said there was an update on my I-526E case. When I opened it, I was thrilled to see it was approved. I felt ecstatic, and the first person I informed was my lawyer. She had already received the electronic USCIS notification and forwarded it to me.
Knowing that I am now in line to receive my Green Card is a huge relief. My family and I should receive our Green Cards quite soon.
With the Green Card, my future in the U.S. looks promising. I was already eligible to switch work with my EAD, but the Green Card gives me more flexibility in terms of job opportunities.
I plan to apply for citizenship once eligible. This will open up more opportunities because many companies require citizenship for their employees.
This also benefits my kids significantly. They will receive their Green Cards in the future. They will have the option to stay in the U.S. or move elsewhere without worrying about getting their own visas after turning 21. This is probably the biggest advantage for them.
Additionally, at the end of Twin Lakes’ loan term, I will get my funding back. This will allow me to invest in a business or another property.
How to Get Started on the EB-5 Process
The first thing I did was research everything about the EB-5 program. I needed to understand how it worked before diving in.
Once I was sure EB-5 was the right path for me, I began looking into regional centers to invest with.
After that, I reached out to immigration attorneys to figure out the next steps. I asked questions like, “What’s the next step? What paperwork do I need? How do I collect the source-of-funds documents?”
Choosing the right immigration attorney—in my case, Anahita George—was a big part of the process. Anahita guided me through all the paperwork and the source of funds. She also gave me detailed information about the timeline, whether I should invest in a rural area and considerations for my country’s backlog in other categories.
For six months, I talked to various regional centers to get a comprehensive understanding of the process. This was crucial because I wanted to make sure everything would come together when I was ready to make my investment.
Why I Invested in EB5AN’s Twin Lakes Georgia Rural EB-5 Project
I visited about four or five different EB-5 regional centers before I decided on EB5AN. I looked at the types of projects they had, their locations, and their offerings. Real estate was the industry I was most interested in.
Within real estate, there are various sectors like hotels, resorts, and housing. I had experience in the housing market from my investments in Canada, so I wanted to focus on residential projects. This focus led me to EB5AN and their Twin Lakes Georgia rural EB-5 project.
The Twin Lakes project is a 55-plus community, which I found appealing. I researched the location, project size, and community, and it matched perfectly with what I was looking for. The project is on the outskirts of Atlanta, a major city. Many people are moving to the suburbs, and this project seemed viable for families who want to stay close to their loved ones.
It’s also attractive to people seeking warmer climates during the cold months up north. The growing population of 55-plus individuals looking for an active lifestyle community was also an important factor.
My first visit to the project was in April or May of 2023. I didn’t book a tour; I just walked in to see the Twin Lakes community for myself. There were many people at the office, some looking at properties, others buying or holding spots. I joined a walking tour with another group, saw the model homes and amenities, and was impressed by the quality of the project.
The community offers luxurious amenities like a swimming pool, pickleball courts, and a gym, which makes it very appealing.
After that visit, I was almost sure I would invest in Twin Lakes. I visited again in July, after making my investment.
Since then, I’ve received regular updates about the ongoing sales and development. It’s exciting to see the community grow, with people moving in and enjoying the amenities. The project’s development has been consistent, with new areas being constructed and completed, showing clear progress.
From an EB-5 perspective, the rural location and job creation were crucial factors. Being from India, the long wait times for other visa categories meant the 20% set-aside visas for rural areas were significant for me. I was able to avoid months or years of delays before my I-526E approval.
The EB-5 program also requires your funds to create at least 10 jobs in order to receive a permanent Green Card. Seeing the project’s scale and the effort put into it assured me that these jobs were being created.
Having thousands of jobs already created by the Twin Lakes project gave me confidence that my immigration process would be successful.
My #1 Advice for New EB-5 Investors
If you’re thinking about making an EB-5 investment, my advice is to do it as soon as possible. Don’t wait until you hear more investor experiences or wait for someone else to get their funds back. If you have the funds, go ahead and do it right now.
Right now (June 2024), there’s no backlog for India. All the dates are current, and there are so many projects available. Even for the Twin Lakes project, there are still some spots. I would say go for it.
If you want to get your Green Card quickly, EB5AN is probably your best option.
If you make your investment soon, you can be very close to getting your Green Card. But for many foreign nationals who have been in the U.S. for 10 or 15 years on other visas, they’re still far from a Green Card.
Again: pick the project, narrow down what you need, and if you’re really thinking about EB-5, go for it. It’s better to do it now than later.
From my experience, hiring a great immigration lawyer was key. The source of funds was completed and accepted by USCIS without any issues. The project created all the jobs, and being in a rural area, there’s no backlog. Everything went perfectly for me. I got approved with no RFEs or questions.
My family and I are thrilled with how smoothly the EB-5 process went. The financial investment we made was definitely worthwhile, and we’ve already enjoyed the freedom to work and travel internationally while living in the United States.
If you are in a position to invest in the EB-5 visa, I highly recommend doing so. You may be approved for your U.S. Green Cards in only months, with a promising future in the U.S. ahead.
