{"id":181057,"date":"2022-12-01T06:45:56","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T06:45:56","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-05-06T11:55:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T11:55:29","slug":"can-a-foreign-national-in-the-united-states-on-a-visitor-visa-apply-for-eb-5","status":"publish","type":"faq","link":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/zh-hans\/faq\/visa-comparison-and-overlap\/can-a-foreign-national-in-the-united-states-on-a-visitor-visa-apply-for-eb-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Can a foreign national in the United States on a visitor visa apply for EB-5?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Prospective applicants of the EB-5 visa are permitted to take the first step and <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/an-eb-5-investors-guide-to-form-i-526\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">file Form I-526E<\/a> from anywhere in the world, be it their home country or the United States. Similarly, a foreign national residing in the United States with a visitor visa is permitted to apply for an EB-5 visa and undertake all the required steps part of the process, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5affiliatenetwork.com\/importance-due-diligence-eb-5-investors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">conducting due diligence<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/eb-5-immigration-attorneys\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hiring an immigration attorney<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6skWC5V1W3I?rel=0;&amp;autoplay=1&amp;mute=1&amp;loop=1&amp;\" width=\"100%\" height=\"678\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>That having been said, they must still abide by the stipulations of their nonimmigrant visa. Filing an I-526E petition and starting the EB-5 process does not entitle the foreign national to remain in the United States. If the EB-5 investor\u2019s visitor visa expires before their I-526E petition is adjudicated, they will have to return to their home country. If the foreign national wishes to remain in the United States during the processing of their I-526E petition, they must explore the option of either renewing their expired visa or applying for a new one.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FAQ-190_image-2.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Foreign nationals who hold a visitor or work visa can apply to extend their stay or switch to a different nonimmigrant visa by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/i-539\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">filing Form I-539<\/a>, Application to Extend\/Change Nonimmigrant Status. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has suggested on their website that foreign nationals should file Form I-539 at least 45 days before the expiration of their current visa.<\/p>\n<p>If legally extending their stay in the United States is not a viable option, an EB-5 investor who has filed Form I-526E may have to return to their home country if their nonimmigrant visa is due to expire before their I-526E petition can be adjudicated. In this case, the EB5 investor would, upon approval of Form I-526E, undergo consular processing in their home country. Consular processing involves <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/forms\/department-of-state-ds-and-other-non-uscis-forms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">filing Form DS-260<\/a>, Immigrant Visa Electronic Application, and <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5affiliatenetwork.com\/eb-5-visa-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">attending an interview<\/a> at their home country\u2019s U.S. embassy or consulate office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"faq-topic":[193],"class_list":["post-181057","faq","type-faq","status-publish","hentry","faq-topic-visa-comparison-and-overlap"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq\/181057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/faq"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq\/181057\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"faq-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq-topic?post=181057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}