How can a novice investor ensure the success of their EB-5 investment?

By definition, if you "ensure" the success of the EB-5 investment, you do not qualify. The funds must be "at risk." All you can do is minimize your risk by working with a team of experienced professionals and a regional center that you are comfortable with.

You should consult an EB-5 due diligence professional for a start and then engage the services of an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney to prepare the I-526 petition and conduct legal due diligence of the offering documentation of the regional center project of your choice.

EB-5 is not for everybody. A novice investor might want to consider other immigration alternatives, if available. If you are considering investing your entire life savings or if you cannot afford to lose all of the principal in the EB-5 investment, then EB-5 might not be right for you. If after consultation with family and friends and a financial adviser (and immigration counsel), you decide that you wish to consider investing in an EB-5 project, it would be worthwhile to engage a due diligence firm to advise you on which EB-5 projects fit your particular needs. An immigration attorney can advise you on whether or not a particular project will qualify for EB-5 immigration benefits, but that attorney should not be giving you financial advice, i.e., he or she should not be telling you where to invest your funds.

You will need a business professional who deals in performing "due diligence" to advise you on the feasibility of the business venture itself. Then employ an attorney well-versed in EB-5 to evaluate the feasibility of fitting the project into the EB-5 program.

That is why reviewing the regional centers&#39 track record is important. The most important issue for keeping your green card status is the job creation. Thus, the formula that the regional center uses for the indirect job creation must be USCIS accepted and they do not over-inflate the numbers needed. To put it another way, check to see how many jobs are expected vs. needed. You also should check to see how much of EB-5 funds comprise the entire project funds, how much experience the developer has in doing such project, and what kind of experience the regional center has in managing the limited partnership and investment. Another issue that many investors worry about is the exit strategy after the condition is removed. To sum up, you should check on the track record of the center, whether the project is commercially viable given the location and market, whether the regional center is the developer/owner (checking on conflict of interest), whether the job numbers are overly ambitious, and what is their exit strategy.

We recommend finding independent attorney and business consultants to look at the plan and documents - while no one can guarantee the success of the projects, they should be able to evaluate the projects and give you an idea of what issues you may foresee.

Generally, a regional center will not allow a novice investor to subscribe into their project. They must be what is considered an accredited investor who has knowledge of investment. You can search EB-5 blog sites for possible projects, but there is no guaranteed return in these projects.

Besides retaining an immigration attorney, retaining an investment adviser is very important. Yes, it is another fee to pay another professional, but their advice is crucial. Speaking of other professionals, a CPA or tax attorney is an important member of your team.

It is very important for an investor to do their due diligence. Immigration attorneys can only offer general information on the regional centers. Investors should get independent advice from licensed brokers or other investment professionals. The regional centers should provide complete information on their record of I-526 and I-829 approvals and returns on investment.

Investment entails risk in any scenario. You need to hire an accountant or law firm to perform due diligence on the deal you are considering so that you have all of the facts you consider relevant on-hand to make a decision. You might be surprised about how much you can learn about a deal from your counsel&#39s review of offering documents.

You could retain an investment adviser.

While an attorney may not be able to offer investment advice, they may advise you on successful EB-5 projects from an immigration standpoint. Further, there are a limited amount of EB-5 investment advisers out there that are licensed to provide investment advice on projects. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.