1/21/26 – EB-5 visas are a special type of visa designed to attract foreign investment in American infrastructure projects and create American jobs. They put foreigners with approximately a million dollars to invest at the front of the immigration line. I asked ChatGPT, “What happens if you get an EB-5 visa, but then the project you invested in never gets built?”
Fictional AI image created by ChatGPT
That opened up a Pandora’s box. Evidently, the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) and Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) encounter this problem frequently. Here’s what I learned after a day of online exploration.
What Happens If Project Is Never Built?
For applicants, the consequences depend on where they are in the EB-5 process and why the project failed. The outcome can range from merely losing their investment to losing immigration benefits or both.
EB-5 is not a “pay-for-visa” program. USCIS requires:
Capital to be “at risk”
It must create at least 10 qualifying U.S. jobs per investor
Those jobs must actually be created, not just planned.
If the project is never built, job creation almost always fails — which is fatal to the visa.
ChatGPT
What happens to the visa depends on how the project fails and at which stage. There is no automatic protection. Approval of an EB-5 petition does not guarantee the success of the business or the return of capital. And the U.S. government does not underwrite or insure EB-5 investments.
Project failure is far more serious than in ordinary real-estate investing. EB-5 investors can lose both their investment AND their visa.
Red Flags in EB-5 Offerings
According to ChatGPT, these red flags appear repeatedly in failed EB-5 cases/projects.
“Job Cushion” Based Only on Future Projections
A legitimate EB-5 project should show at least 20-30% excess jobs based on hard construction costs alone. Danger signs include that cushion relying on future operations, such as a “Phase II.”
Developer with No Completed U.S. Projects
EB-5 visas are based on execution, not vision. USCIS does not care about renderings, master plans, press releases, or “international experience.” They only care whether buildings were actually built, certificates of occupancy were issued and operations began. Many EB-5 failures reportedly trace directly to “First U.S. Project.”
Vague Exit Strategy
EB-5 investors are almost always unsecured, subordinated, and last in line. Beware of phrases in promotional literature, such as “Sale Expected.” Repayment risk for investors may be extreme.
Floodway/Floodplain Location
A project located in a floodway or floodplain faces extraordinary engineering uncertainty. If construction is not feasible due to regulatory barriers, USCIS can later characterize the project as not viable from inception.
Refusal to Release Drainage Impact Analysis
If the project fails, this can become a material omission under federal securities law.
A Maze of Shell Companies
A complex web of LLCs and offshore entities may obscure ownership, transfer of funds, and transparency, especially if some entities are offshore or owned by foreign nationals.
Major Hotel-Chain-Involvement Claimed
Major hotel chains do not attach their names casually to projects. Saying major hotel chains are involved is a very common misrepresentation in EB-5 disputes. Brand usage without authorization has appeared repeatedly in prior SEC enforcement actions. Demand to see a signed letter of intent from any hotel chain touted as part of a project.
Why Hotels?
Hotels create not only construction jobs, they create permanent operational jobs, too – housekeeping, front desk, food & beverage, maintenance, management and more. This creates what EB-5 insiders call a “job factory.” Few other types of assets offer this.
Jobs can be modeled and assumed before anything is built. Reality is only tested years later…if the project gets built.
Hotels are also easy for foreign investors to understand. The psychological simplicity is powerful. But in the absence of a signed management agreement, beware.
Moreover, hotels are capital intensive, accommodating large numbers of EB-5 investors per project.
Finally, hotels can mask fatal land-use problems. EB-5 developers often propose them on floodplain land and wetlands, which conventional lenders avoid, but which foreigners may not understand.
A luxury hotel can be proposed almost anywhere on paper. And the difficulty of such sites can obscure the ultimate pending failure for years.
SEC and DHS investigators call this model “the hotel shell.” It’s a known “failure architecture.”
How Developers Can Quietly Fail EB-5 Projects
Most EB-5 projects do not collapse dramatically. They reportedly begin and then fade out according to a common pattern:
Promotion with a glossy website, roadshows, and a conceptual master plan. Capital is raised before execution risk is visible.
As time passes, investors are told of minor delays related to infrastructure costs, drainage requirements, off-site mitigation, and rising construction costs.
The capital stack breaks (the order in which money is repaid if something goes wrong). EB-5 money alone cannot carry the project as lenders withdraw, interest rates rise, appraisals come in low, or construction bids exceed the estimate.
Then silence! No press releases. No construction start. Updates stop. Investors receive only quarterly status letters. This phase can last years.
Finally, the USCIS deadline arrives. No construction. No jobs. No recovery of investment. And visa revocation.
To Verify Whether Developers Have Actually Completed Projects
Do not rely on marketing materials. Do your own due diligence.
Ask for Certificates of Occupancy from previous projects. Crosscheck those with county appraisal records. Check improvement values, year built, and square footage. If improvement value is near zero after several years, the project has not been built.
Look for building-permit close outs. If permits remain open for years, that’s a red flag.
Check for litigation. Search federal courts, bankruptcy courts and securities litigation. EB-5 failures often involve investor lawsuits, SEC actions and receiverships.
And finally look for consistency of the developer’s track record. Be wary if completed projects are small (or overseas), but proposed projects are grandiose.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/21/2026 based on ChatGPT responses to multiple questions
3067 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20260121-Failed-EB5-Investment.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2026-01-21 20:05:212026-01-21 20:39:33Red Flags for EB-5 Visa Applicants, Projects
1/20/26 at 3:30 PM – Consideration of a plat variance for a swamp development scheduled for a vote by the Houston Planning Commission on 1/22/26 has been delayed until at least 2/5. Houston City Council member Fred Flickinger requested the deferral at 12:25 PM today.
Shortly after 3PM, I received confirmation from both Dustin Hodges, Flickinger’s Chief of Staff, and Vonn Tran, Director of Houston’s Planning and Development Department, that the variance request by Roman Arrow, LLC will be delayed as requested by Flickinger.
So, if you were planning to go downtown to protest the development at this Thursday’s meeting, save your time. Hopefully, we will learn more about the developer’s plans before the 2/5 meeting. You can attend then.
About the Development
Roman Arrow, aka Romerica, has proposed building two luxury hotels and 120 villas/condos up to 8,600 square feet each in and around the swamps between Kingwood Lakes and the Barrington, just east of Woodland Hills Drive in Kingwood.
Solid green areas represent wetlands. Source: National Wetlands Inventory. Roman Arrow land is outlined in red. They propose development in two phases.View from current entry road during a month that received two inches of rain.Romerica Roman Arrow land is virtually all in the hundred year floodplain (aqua). Although when new flood maps are released the floodway of the West Fork (cross hatched area at bottom) will likely expand north.
For more information about the proposed development see the their high-level plans and variance application:
Phase One includes a 297,600-square-foot Fairmont Hotel with 400 rooms and 90 condominium residences.
Phase Two includes another 226,085-square-foot hotel with 37 8,611-square-foot villas, each on one third acre lots.
Media relations at the Fairmont chain has not returned phone calls or emails to verify their supposed involvement in the Kingwood development.
Refusal to Comply with FOIA Request
I have requested the drainage impact analysis submitted to and approved by Houston Public Works. However, Houston Public Works says that it belongs to the developer, so they have requested a ruling from the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on whether they can release it.
My point of view is that once Houston Public Works approved it, the approval and anything the approval was based on became public information and should be produced forthwith. Attorney General reviews usually take 45 days.
Other government agencies, such as Liberty County and Montgomery County routinely produce such studies in response to Freedom of Information Act Requests. Houston must have its own policy. And that policy merits review in my opinion. It makes a mockery of any pretext to transparency.
Having said that, I know many people in the City who would produce it in a minute if something weren’t holding them back.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/20/2026
3066 Days since Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Romerica-Outline-copy.jpg?fit=2210%2C1498&ssl=114982210adminadmin2026-01-20 17:10:252026-01-20 17:18:28Plat Variance for Swamp Development Deferred by Planning Commission
Draft Agenda Item 89 lists the project name as River Grove, but drawings within the variance request call it Kingwood Marina.
City Appeals FOIA Request to Attorney General
The Planning and Development Department appealed my Freedom of Information Act request for the developer’s drainage study to the Texas Attorney General. That means the public may not be able to review the drainage plans before the Planning Commission rules on plat approval. Worse, the public may never get to see the drainage study.
Marbet Alonzo of the City Planning and Development Department said, “The document you requested is a third-party document and cannot be released at this time. We have submitted a request to the Attorney General’s Office for a ruling. Once a determination is made and the document is eligible for release, we will provide it promptly.”
Approving plans before the public has had a chance to review all relevant documents highlights serious transparency and procedural issues.
Bob Rehak
You may submit public comments by sending an email to speakercomments.pc@houstontx.gov, at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Reference 2025-2266 River Grove GP in the title of your email.
Transparency and Procedural Issues
In my opinion, the only honorable thing to do in this case is to defer a decision until after the attorney general has ruled on release of the study, and the public has had time to review and prepare comments. If the attorney general allows the drainage plans to remain secret, then the City should deny permits.
Page 158 of the agenda shows that consideration may be deferred to a future date. However, the MLK holiday disrupted the Planning Commission’s normal publication schedule. So, I’m still looking at a DRAFT agenda. However, public comments must be submitted 24 hours before the meeting. Accordingly, I’m publishing this post today, so that people can email comments Tuesday before the deadline on Wednesday.
Rehak’s Concerns
To be fair, my concerns go beyond street layouts. I have been photographing this property for years. I started when Romerica first proposed building 50 story high-rises in the floodplain of the San Jacinto West Fork on another portion of their property south of the Barrington.
But I’ve also kept a close eye on the portion of the property north of Barrington. The photos below show some of the issues.
Roman Arrow land after two inches of rainfall in previous month.Looking E. Barrington on R. Roman Arrow property upper left. Photo taken on 5/3/24.One day later from opposite direction looking W. Roman Arrow property is right of upper center.USGS National Map shows that Roman Arrow land (center) averages 7 feet lower than Barrington (Bottom).Roman Arrow/Romerica Wetlands shown in green both north and south of Barrington (center)
Given that current floodplain maps show the entire Roman Arrow property in the 100-year floodplain, they will not be able to bring in fill to elevate the homes and hotel they plan to build there. They will have to excavate dirt from their property or elevate structures on stilts.
Romerica/Roman Arrow land in center; see above. Aqua=100-year floodplain. Brown=500 year. Cross-hatch=floodway of West Fork.
Note the date on the map above: 2007. When new flood maps are released, floodplains and floodways are expected to expand by 50-100%.
What Do They Plan to Build?
The developers have said they hope to build the development in two phases.
Phase One includes a 297,600-square-foot Fairmont Hotel with 400 rooms and 90 condominium residences.
Phase Two includes another 226,085-square-foot hotel with 37 8,611-square-foot villas, each on one third acre lots.
They plan to build the roads up to 60 feet – 13 feet above swamp level and 5 feet higher than the roads in Barrington.
Pedestrian pathways would be elevated to 71 feet – 11 feet above the roads.
The hotels would top out 65 feet above ground level. But the first residential floor of the condominiums would start at 65 feet and rise two stories.
They claim ground level will be 53 feet – 7 feet below the road level.
It’s all very confusing. That’s why we need to see the drainage plans. Where will the fill come from? Do they plan to build on stilts? Will structures and fill impede the flow of the floodway when new flood maps are released?
They can’t bring fill into the 100-year floodplain. And excavating it from land that’s already underwater won’t help mitigate increased flood potential.
Phase II HotelPhase II Condo
Third Time Around
This is the third concept that Romerica/Roman Arrow developers have pitched for this property.
The first was 25- to 50-story high-rises south of the Barrington with underground parking next to the floodway of the West Fork.
Then they pitched a series of homes on stilts under the name Orchard Seeded Ranches. That quietly fell off the radar.
Now this.
The land previously belonged to developer Ron Holley who fought the City for 20 years for the right to build on it.
Many have conjectured whether these developers are trying to raise money for the development via EB-5 visas. The developers are foreign nationals and are shielding their Texas operating companies through a series of approximately 30 shell companies at last count.
EB-5 visas give preferential consideration for green cards to foreigners and their families who invest $800,000 to a million dollars or more in American infrastructure projects that create jobs.
I have no evidence that that is their plan. Neither can I find any evidence that they have actually completed any developments in the U.S. under the names Romerica or Roman Arrow.
Neither Romerica nor Roman Arrow appears to have an active website – something that seems strange for a company claiming that this will be a half-billion project.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/19/2026
3065 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Roman-Arrow.jpg?fit=1100%2C716&ssl=17161100adminadmin2026-01-19 19:55:232026-01-19 21:28:49City to Consider Approval of Development in Swamp While Keeping Drainage Study Secret
Red Flags for EB-5 Visa Applicants, Projects
1/21/26 – EB-5 visas are a special type of visa designed to attract foreign investment in American infrastructure projects and create American jobs. They put foreigners with approximately a million dollars to invest at the front of the immigration line. I asked ChatGPT, “What happens if you get an EB-5 visa, but then the project you invested in never gets built?”
That opened up a Pandora’s box. Evidently, the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) and Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) encounter this problem frequently. Here’s what I learned after a day of online exploration.
What Happens If Project Is Never Built?
For applicants, the consequences depend on where they are in the EB-5 process and why the project failed. The outcome can range from merely losing their investment to losing immigration benefits or both.
EB-5 is not a “pay-for-visa” program. USCIS requires:
What happens to the visa depends on how the project fails and at which stage. There is no automatic protection. Approval of an EB-5 petition does not guarantee the success of the business or the return of capital. And the U.S. government does not underwrite or insure EB-5 investments.
Project failure is far more serious than in ordinary real-estate investing. EB-5 investors can lose both their investment AND their visa.
Red Flags in EB-5 Offerings
According to ChatGPT, these red flags appear repeatedly in failed EB-5 cases/projects.
“Job Cushion” Based Only on Future Projections
A legitimate EB-5 project should show at least 20-30% excess jobs based on hard construction costs alone. Danger signs include that cushion relying on future operations, such as a “Phase II.”
Developer with No Completed U.S. Projects
EB-5 visas are based on execution, not vision. USCIS does not care about renderings, master plans, press releases, or “international experience.” They only care whether buildings were actually built, certificates of occupancy were issued and operations began. Many EB-5 failures reportedly trace directly to “First U.S. Project.”
Vague Exit Strategy
EB-5 investors are almost always unsecured, subordinated, and last in line. Beware of phrases in promotional literature, such as “Sale Expected.” Repayment risk for investors may be extreme.
Floodway/Floodplain Location
A project located in a floodway or floodplain faces extraordinary engineering uncertainty. If construction is not feasible due to regulatory barriers, USCIS can later characterize the project as not viable from inception.
Refusal to Release Drainage Impact Analysis
If the project fails, this can become a material omission under federal securities law.
A Maze of Shell Companies
A complex web of LLCs and offshore entities may obscure ownership, transfer of funds, and transparency, especially if some entities are offshore or owned by foreign nationals.
Major Hotel-Chain-Involvement Claimed
Major hotel chains do not attach their names casually to projects. Saying major hotel chains are involved is a very common misrepresentation in EB-5 disputes. Brand usage without authorization has appeared repeatedly in prior SEC enforcement actions. Demand to see a signed letter of intent from any hotel chain touted as part of a project.
Why Hotels?
Hotels create not only construction jobs, they create permanent operational jobs, too – housekeeping, front desk, food & beverage, maintenance, management and more. This creates what EB-5 insiders call a “job factory.” Few other types of assets offer this.
Jobs can be modeled and assumed before anything is built. Reality is only tested years later…if the project gets built.
Hotels are also easy for foreign investors to understand. The psychological simplicity is powerful. But in the absence of a signed management agreement, beware.
Moreover, hotels are capital intensive, accommodating large numbers of EB-5 investors per project.
Finally, hotels can mask fatal land-use problems. EB-5 developers often propose them on floodplain land and wetlands, which conventional lenders avoid, but which foreigners may not understand.
A luxury hotel can be proposed almost anywhere on paper. And the difficulty of such sites can obscure the ultimate pending failure for years.
SEC and DHS investigators call this model “the hotel shell.” It’s a known “failure architecture.”
How Developers Can Quietly Fail EB-5 Projects
Most EB-5 projects do not collapse dramatically. They reportedly begin and then fade out according to a common pattern:
To Verify Whether Developers Have Actually Completed Projects
Do not rely on marketing materials. Do your own due diligence.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/21/2026 based on ChatGPT responses to multiple questions
3067 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
Plat Variance for Swamp Development Deferred by Planning Commission
1/20/26 at 3:30 PM – Consideration of a plat variance for a swamp development scheduled for a vote by the Houston Planning Commission on 1/22/26 has been delayed until at least 2/5. Houston City Council member Fred Flickinger requested the deferral at 12:25 PM today.
Shortly after 3PM, I received confirmation from both Dustin Hodges, Flickinger’s Chief of Staff, and Vonn Tran, Director of Houston’s Planning and Development Department, that the variance request by Roman Arrow, LLC will be delayed as requested by Flickinger.
So, if you were planning to go downtown to protest the development at this Thursday’s meeting, save your time. Hopefully, we will learn more about the developer’s plans before the 2/5 meeting. You can attend then.
About the Development
Roman Arrow, aka Romerica, has proposed building two luxury hotels and 120 villas/condos up to 8,600 square feet each in and around the swamps between Kingwood Lakes and the Barrington, just east of Woodland Hills Drive in Kingwood.
For more information about the proposed development see the their high-level plans and variance application:
For even more information, consult yesterday’s post.
Media relations at the Fairmont chain has not returned phone calls or emails to verify their supposed involvement in the Kingwood development.
Refusal to Comply with FOIA Request
I have requested the drainage impact analysis submitted to and approved by Houston Public Works. However, Houston Public Works says that it belongs to the developer, so they have requested a ruling from the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on whether they can release it.
My point of view is that once Houston Public Works approved it, the approval and anything the approval was based on became public information and should be produced forthwith. Attorney General reviews usually take 45 days.
Other government agencies, such as Liberty County and Montgomery County routinely produce such studies in response to Freedom of Information Act Requests. Houston must have its own policy. And that policy merits review in my opinion. It makes a mockery of any pretext to transparency.
Having said that, I know many people in the City who would produce it in a minute if something weren’t holding them back.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/20/2026
3066 Days since Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
City to Consider Approval of Development in Swamp While Keeping Drainage Study Secret
1/19/26 – On Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 2:30 PM the Houston Planning Commission may consider approval of a proposed half-billion development in swampland. Specifically, Roman Arrow LLC (AKA Romerica), the developer, has requested plat approval with a variance for a new subdivision between Kingwood Lakes and the Barrington.
Draft Agenda Item 89 lists the project name as River Grove, but drawings within the variance request call it Kingwood Marina.
City Appeals FOIA Request to Attorney General
The Planning and Development Department appealed my Freedom of Information Act request for the developer’s drainage study to the Texas Attorney General. That means the public may not be able to review the drainage plans before the Planning Commission rules on plat approval. Worse, the public may never get to see the drainage study.
Marbet Alonzo of the City Planning and Development Department said, “The document you requested is a third-party document and cannot be released at this time. We have submitted a request to the Attorney General’s Office for a ruling. Once a determination is made and the document is eligible for release, we will provide it promptly.”
You may submit public comments by sending an email to speakercomments.pc@houstontx.gov, at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Reference 2025-2266 River Grove GP in the title of your email.
Transparency and Procedural Issues
In my opinion, the only honorable thing to do in this case is to defer a decision until after the attorney general has ruled on release of the study, and the public has had time to review and prepare comments. If the attorney general allows the drainage plans to remain secret, then the City should deny permits.
Page 158 of the agenda shows that consideration may be deferred to a future date. However, the MLK holiday disrupted the Planning Commission’s normal publication schedule. So, I’m still looking at a DRAFT agenda. However, public comments must be submitted 24 hours before the meeting. Accordingly, I’m publishing this post today, so that people can email comments Tuesday before the deadline on Wednesday.
Rehak’s Concerns
To be fair, my concerns go beyond street layouts. I have been photographing this property for years. I started when Romerica first proposed building 50 story high-rises in the floodplain of the San Jacinto West Fork on another portion of their property south of the Barrington.
But I’ve also kept a close eye on the portion of the property north of Barrington. The photos below show some of the issues.
Given that current floodplain maps show the entire Roman Arrow property in the 100-year floodplain, they will not be able to bring in fill to elevate the homes and hotel they plan to build there. They will have to excavate dirt from their property or elevate structures on stilts.
Note the date on the map above: 2007. When new flood maps are released, floodplains and floodways are expected to expand by 50-100%.
What Do They Plan to Build?
The developers have said they hope to build the development in two phases.
Phase One includes a 297,600-square-foot Fairmont Hotel with 400 rooms and 90 condominium residences.
Phase Two includes another 226,085-square-foot hotel with 37 8,611-square-foot villas, each on one third acre lots.
They plan to build the roads up to 60 feet – 13 feet above swamp level and 5 feet higher than the roads in Barrington.
Pedestrian pathways would be elevated to 71 feet – 11 feet above the roads.
The hotels would top out 65 feet above ground level. But the first residential floor of the condominiums would start at 65 feet and rise two stories.
They claim ground level will be 53 feet – 7 feet below the road level.
It’s all very confusing. That’s why we need to see the drainage plans. Where will the fill come from? Do they plan to build on stilts? Will structures and fill impede the flow of the floodway when new flood maps are released?
They can’t bring fill into the 100-year floodplain. And excavating it from land that’s already underwater won’t help mitigate increased flood potential.
Third Time Around
This is the third concept that Romerica/Roman Arrow developers have pitched for this property.
The land previously belonged to developer Ron Holley who fought the City for 20 years for the right to build on it.
Many have conjectured whether these developers are trying to raise money for the development via EB-5 visas. The developers are foreign nationals and are shielding their Texas operating companies through a series of approximately 30 shell companies at last count.
EB-5 visas give preferential consideration for green cards to foreigners and their families who invest $800,000 to a million dollars or more in American infrastructure projects that create jobs.
I have no evidence that that is their plan. Neither can I find any evidence that they have actually completed any developments in the U.S. under the names Romerica or Roman Arrow.
A web search for Roman Arrow LLC turns up lawsuits brought by City of Houston, Harris County and Lone Star College District for delinquent taxes. Humble ISD filed another separate tax lawsuit.
Neither Romerica nor Roman Arrow appears to have an active website – something that seems strange for a company claiming that this will be a half-billion project.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/19/2026
3065 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.