About Michael A Harris, Esq
Michael A. Harris is an EB-5 immigration attorney who practices with HarrisLaw, based in Miami, Florida. He is also Of Counsel to Diaz Reus, a Chamber’s rated international law firm based in Miami, with offices in Brazil, China, Colombia, Moscow, Dubai and Venezuela. Harris is a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law. He has also earned an “AV Preeminent” Peer Rating, the highest rating available from Martindale-Hubbell, as well as being ranked as a Top Immigration Lawyer by Best Lawyers. Harris represents many U.S. businesses seeking to raise EB-5 capital and become regional centers, as well as represents numerous individual EB-5 investors.
Harris’ EB-5 regional center clients and developers have had proposed capital stack projects valued at over $1 billion, and have sought to raise between $5 million and $250 million in EB-5 capital. He has obtained USCIS approval for such clients in industries ranging from gold and silver mining, to assisted living, to hotel/office construction, to food hospitality and more. The geographic areas in which his regional center clients have received designation include part of or the entirety of the states of New York, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Alabama, Mississippi, Alaska, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Florida.
Additionally, Harris represents individual EB-5 investors seeking to invest through direct standalone investments into their own U.S. businesses, through regional centers. As a board-certified expert in immigration law, he also has extensive experience assisting clients with various complex immigration matters, including cases for E-1 treaty traders, E-2 treaty investors, business immigration matters, consular matters, family immigration and deportation defense. His elevated level of expertise and professionalism ensures he can provide the most comprehensive guidance to developers and investor clients.
With a career spanning 23 years in the field of immigration law, Harris has successfully represented hundreds of clients ranging from small families to multinational companies with over 20,000 employees. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University. He was then admitted to the Florida Bar in 2007. Previously, he attended The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he studied political science, and then went on to receive his B.A. in Political Science and English from the University of Florida in 1999. After college, he was trained and educated by various leading immigration attorneys, authors and experts.
Harris is an active member of AILA and the AILA South Florida Chapter, where he is a past member of the chapter’s board of directors and various committees. He currently serves on the Florida Bar’s Board Certification Committee on Immigration and Nationality Law, as well as AILA National’s EB-5 and Technology & Innovation committees. He has been frequently invited to write about EB-5 for online publications, and to speak on EB-5 matters for distinguished law seminars. Harris is fluent in English and Spanish, along with a complement of staff fluent in Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic.
Answers to EB-5 369 Questions Answered
- How can I switch to an EB-5 visa while already in the U.S. on a tourist visa?
- How can a TN visa holder concurrently file EB-5 applications?
- How can current EB-2 visa holders fulfill EB-5 investment requirements?
- When should an F-1 visa holder discuss their EB-5 application with the university?
- How can we relocate to the US as a polygamous family using EB-5 or E-2?
- What are the residency requirements for a direct EB-5 investor?
- How does the 90-day requirement for change of status work for EB-5 investors?
- How can I finance my direct EB-5 investment?
- How can I use a loan from a friend as my EB-5 funds?
- How much return can I expect on my EB-5 investment?
- How can I use my Caribbean citizenship to apply for the EB-5 visa after renouncing my original nationality?
- How does concurrent filing work for EB-5 investors?
- How does concurrent filing work for EB-5 investors?
- How can apply for an EB-5 visa without having to liquify my holdings?
- What should I be aware of as the receiver of EB-5 funds in the form of a gift?
- How can I use my company that is located in a TEA for direct EB-5 investments?
- How can I live and work in the U.S. while my EB-5 application is pending?
- How can I qualify as an EB-5 investor on a business loan in addition to the minimum investment as liquid asset?
- What should me my pathway from an E-3 visa to an EB-5 visa when it comes to income generation?
- How can I apply for an EB-5 visa through my successful U.S. business?
- What will be my status after my EB-5 conditional green card expires?
- How can I get EB-5 and L-1A with the same enterprise?
- How can I raise funds and create an EB-5 fund to help EB-5 investors get a green card if they invest?
- How can I apply for EB-5 after I lost my F-1 status?
- Can I start a new EB-5 case with my new wife when my case for withdrawal is still pending?
- How can I make my startup a direct EB-5 investment?
- How can I use both funds from friends and a bank loan to pay for my EB-5 investment?
- How can I use a business I created while on an E-2 to apply for EB-5?
- What are the criteria and fee for preparing documents for I-924 to recertify a regional center?
- Can I open my own business without impacting my H-1b status?
- How can I make an EB-5 investment on behalf of my sibling?
- How can I apply for an SB-1 visa after being outside of the U.S. for more than a year?
- How can we raise EB-5 capital as a telecommunications company?
- What should I do if my I-526 is pending for three years?
- How is job creation structured in restaurant projects for EB-5?
- How can we get back our EB-5 investment?
- Can I apply for EB-5 with a pending asylum application?
- How can an F-1 student open an LLC and invest in real estate?
- Will Indian EB-5 I-526 applications be processed faster?
- How does the Trump Immigration Ban affect my EB-5 process?
- How would the Trump immigration ban impact a pending I-829 application?
- How many jobs we would need to create as an EB-5 developer?
- Can I work for the project I invest in during the 2-year conditional permanent residency?
- Will my wife get a green card if I file an EB-5 application before we get married?
- How can I apply for EB-5 with a pending F-1 status reinstatement request?
- Do I have to find a local immigration attorney for my EB-5 case?
- How can an international student use a lottery prize for EB-5?
- How long does I-526 approval take for a direct investment?
- How can a foreigner who has overstayed his tourist visa apply for EB-5?
- How can I strategically plan the timing of my EB-5 filing to meet the Nov. 21 deadline?
- What is the I-526 processing time for an Africa-born investor?
- How can I transfer my EB-2 priority date to my EB-5 application?
- What costs are included in an EB-5 investment?
- Is it possible to apply for the EB-5 program with a criminal record?
- How can we invest in an EB-5 restaurant franchise project with diners at different locations?
- Can I apply for U.S. citizenship if my I-829 is pending?
- Can an OPT student travel outside U.S. with a pending I-130 application?
- How long can I keep my status as a green card holder after the I-829 application is denied?
- Can I use E-2 investment toward an EB-5 visa?
- Can I make an EB-5 investment through a holding company?
- What requirements should a start-up meet in order to use EB-5 funds?
- What are the biggest challenges of using an existing business for EB-5?
- How can I get my investment back if I get a NOID for my I-526?
- Who can qualify as an accredited EB-5 investor?
- How can I partner with a U.S. citizen in a direct investment and apply for EB-5?
- How can I apply for EB-5 after entering the U.S. with an E-2 visa as a new Grenadian citizen?
- How can I show that a direct EB-5 business is located in a TEA?
- How can I apply for EB-5 with a pending EB-2 application?
- Are 20-year-old children too old to be included in an EB-5 application?
- How can the processing time differ for investors in the same project?
- What is a good strategy for a pooled EB-5 direct investment project to allocate jobs to investors?
- What happens to my EB-5 case if the JCE is acquired by another company before I get my conditional green card?
- How can I invest the required EB-5 capital through installments?
- How can I move my Brazilian company to the U.S. and qualify as a direct EB-5 investment?
- How can I make my EB-5 application costs benefit me at tax time?
- How can I repurpose my Canadian investment toward an EB-5 investment?
- How many individuals can be in one petition for EB-5?
- How can I apply for EB-5 if I overstayed my visa in another country?
- How can I apply for EB-5 before Sept. 30?
- How can I convert my E-2 business to an EB-5 project?
- What options does my father have after his I-526 is denied?
- How could investing in franchises qualify for EB-5?
- How do multiple investors maintain active roles in a direct investment?
- How can a holding company be structured to qualify for EB-5 direct investment?
- What are the requirements on business experiences of EB-5 direct investors?
- How can I interfile with another EB-5 project when my current I-829 is pending?
- When might the Department of Homeland Security regulations be implemented?
- How are TEAs designated?
- How can I get I-551 stamp without an I-829 filing receipt?
- What company structures are preferable for an EB-5 direct investment?
- What are the differences between renting a EB-5 regional center and starting a new EB-5 regional center?
- How can I use a $50K loan from my 401(k) as part of my EB-5 investment?
- What taxation liabilities do I have if I transfer savings abroad to the U.S. as EB-5 source of funds?
- How can I keep my H1 status until I get a permanent green card?
- What is the required deposit schedule of the EB-5 investment capital?
- What is the processing timeframe for EB-5 cases in projects with expedited exemplar approvals?
- What are USCIS requirements on the marital status of EB-5 dependents?
- How do I structure a business to get it approved as an EB-5 project?
- How can I apply for EB-5 if I overstayed my F-1 visa?
- How can a direct EB-5 investor partner with a regional center without working through the regional center?
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As of February 8, 2013
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