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EB-5 : Don’t Gamble with Your Green Card & Your Capital
Playbook by leading capital allocators on Doing PE-Style Diligence for EB-5 Projects
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Saturday, November 14, 2026 · 12:00 PM ET
Join Vijay Thirumalai, CEO of Goldwater Global, Garrett Connors, Vice President CMB Regional Center and A.J.Hogan, Economic Strategy & Data Insights Manager. Formar USCIS Adjudicator, Navigating the U.S. EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program requires clear insights into processing speeds, regulatory shifts, and project security. Join industry leaders from CMB Regional Centers and Goldwater Global for an exclusive masterclass detailing the latest adjudication trends, processing timelines across different project categories, and institutional underwriting frameworks.Whether evaluating rural versus High Unemployment Area (HUA) routes or seeking clarity on USCIS policy updates, this session provides the data-driven guidance needed to make an informed investment decision.
Date: Saturday, November 14, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Format: Online Webinar
EB-5 after September 30, 2026: Explore your filing options and the outlook for Regional Center Program reauthorization.
Grandfathering and concurrent filing: Learn how your I-526E filing date affects protection if the program lapses, and when you can file I-485 and apply for work authorization and Advance Parole.
Rural vs. High Unemployment Area projects: Compare petition processing and conditional green card timelines.
I-956F project approval: Understand how project approval affects USCIS review of your individual I-526E petition.
CMB’s underwriting and due diligence: See how CMB evaluates repayment risk and the jobs a project expects to create above the required minimum.
Vijay Thirumalai is the CEO of Goldwater Global, India's fastest growing wealth and asset management firm exclusively focused on the top 0.1% of Global Indians. Goldwater serves UHNIs, HNIs, marquee CXOs, star engineers, startup founders, and NRI families navigating global mobility, cross-border wealth structuring, and the EB-5 pathway to a US Green Card
With over two decades of experience in transaction structuring, fund raising, and due diligence, Vijay brings a rare combination of institutional rigor and entrepreneurial edge. Prior to founding Goldwater, he built two successful startups from scratch to multi-million dollar exits. Before that, as part of the leadership team at EY India, he executed over $1 billion in M&A, private equity, and structured credit transactions, advising marquee founders, CXOs, and business families across sectors.
Today, Vijay is the trusted advisor to India's top 0.1% on their EB-5 journey and global mobility ambitions, having raised over $100 million in EB-5 transactions and bringing together capital, compliance, and clarity under one roof.
Garrett Connors serves as Vice President at CMB Regional Centers, one of the oldest and most respected regional center operators in the EB-5 industry. He works closely with international investors, family offices, and partners worldwide, guiding prospective applicants through the structural, financial, and legal aspects of EB-5 investments.
A.J. Hogan brings over 15 years of federal service experience to CMB, having previously served as a Branch Chief and lead economist at USCIS. During his tenure at USCIS, he led teams adjudicating Form I-956F petitions and evaluated economic impact models following the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. He provides unique insider perspective on policy integration and adjudication trends.
The EB-5 landscape has reached a pivotal juncture following the Reform and Integrity Act (RIA). With evolving USCIS processing trends, setting a clear strategy for project selection and timeline expectations is critical for prospective investors:
Category Disparities & Set-Asides: Processing timelines between Rural set-asides and High Unemployment Area (HUA) projects are diverging significantly. Priority processing for rural offerings has created distinct fast-track options, while HUA petitions follow different adjudication tracks.
Impact of Form I-956F Approvals: USCIS project-level approvals (Form I-956F) now play a crucial role in reducing risk and streamlining subsequent investor petition (Form I-526E) adjudications. Understanding where a project stands in this process directly impacts approval predictability.
Concurrent Filing Advantage: For investors already in the United States on valid non-immigrant visas (such as H-1B, F-1, or L-1), concurrent filing of Form I-485 alongside the EB-5 petition provides immediate work authorization (EAD) and travel permission (AP), decoupling residency status from employment dependency.
Institutional Security in Project Selection: As capital requirements and regulatory oversight remain high, evaluating a Regional Center's track record, credit underwriting framework, and job creation buffer is necessary to safeguard both your $800,000 investment principal and your permanent green card pathway.
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