In accordance with the regulations of the EB-5 program, an EB-5 investor may include as derivative beneficiaries their direct family or dependents, which includes their spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21. This benefit does not extend to other family members and relatives, including elderly parents.
However, once the EB-5 investor has been granted U.S. citizenship, they will be authorized to petition for their parents, or specified different types of relatives, by filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.
Form I-130: A Summary
The I-130 petition should be filed by a lawful permanent resident or U.S. citizen who wishes to help an alien relative obtain a green card and immigrate to the United States. The petition’s purpose is to establish a legitimate and qualifying relationship between the petitioner and their relative. While filing Form I-130 does not confer any sort of immigration status on the petitioner’s relative, approval of Form I-130 will authorize the relative to apply for permanent resident status.
Beyond the derivative beneficiaries that are permitted to be attached to the EB-5 investor’s application, an investor who has become a lawful permanent resident is permitted to file Form I-130 for any unmarried children over the age of 21 as well. An EB-5 investor who wishes to sponsor elderly parents must wait until they become a lawful U.S. citizen.
Once the I-130 petition has been approved, because parents are classified as immediate relatives, typically a visa will be immediately available to them. To prove that a familial relationship exists for the purposes of sponsoring their mother, the petitioner must submit their birth certificate with their name and their mother’s name. If sponsoring their father, the petitioner must submit a copy of their birth certificate with both parents’ names. They must also submit a copy of their parents’ marriage certificate establishing an existing martial relationship between their mother and father. If either parent was previously married, the applicant must submit documentation proving that all prior marriages were legally terminated.
The filing fee for Form I-130 is $535. To be properly processed, the petition must be filled out in its entirety, signed, and submitted with the full filing fee.
