Top 5 Rising Stars in EB5 Investors Magazine - EB5Investors.com

Top 5 Rising Stars

EB5 Investors Magazine is pleased to announce the Top 5 Rising Stars in the EB-5 industry. To be eligible, distinguished attorneys are increasing their footprint in the EB-5 industry.

For more information or to contact any of these professionals, we invite you to view their listings at www.EB5Investors.com/directories.

ROBERT BLANCO

Robert Blanco is a senior associate at Darren Silver & Associates and specializes in business and employment immigration cases. He prepares cases for individual investors and advises U.S. businesses on how to structure EB-5 investment projects. Blanco also prepares both immigrant and non-immigrant petitions for skilled workers, executives, highnetworth investors, and people of extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, and business. His experience enables him to develop creative solutions for clients with complex immigration cases. Blanco has served in various liaison roles for AILA and is invited to speak on immigration panels at conferences around the world.

WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY? WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE?

EB-5 is an extra tool in my immigration toolbox for clients who otherwise would have a longer and more uncertain immigration journey. For some, it is the only viable option. I have successfully used EB-5 in many situations. For example, students have gained permanent resident status before graduation, avoiding the H-1B lottery. Long-time nonimmigrant workers have bypassed lengthy backlogs in other immigrant categories. And retirees have followed their children and grandchildren to the U.S. without needing employer sponsorship. EB-5 continues to be a creative solution for my clients when other options are inadequate.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE PANDEMIC HAS IMPACTED THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?

As an immigration attorney, the most noticeable impact of the pandemic has been the delays in government processing at USCIS and consular posts worldwide. Although the EB-5 category was specifically excluded from the presidential proclamation banning immigrant visas, consular closures worldwide made the EB-5 exclusion largely irrelevant. However, the pandemic did result in a substantial increase in employment-based visa numbers for FY 2021, significantly increasing the available EB-5 visas. As vaccinations increase and government resources return to full capacity, I am optimistic that the EB-5 industry will greatly benefit from the additional visas and will soon return to pre-COVID operations.

PHUONG LE

Phuong Le has extensive experience representing parties on all sides of EB-5 deals for over 14 years, including regional centers, project developers, agents, and investors. His clients span the entire EB-5 industry and previously he was in-house counsel for a regional center with over half a billion in EB-5 funds under management and since then has successfully advised on over $2 billion in EB-5 deals across the U.S., including luxury hotels, mixed-use and multifamily, charter schools, and restaurant franchises. He has successfully advised on over a thousand EB-5 petitions, including hundreds of families from China, Vietnam, India, and Latin America.

WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY? WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE?

As the child of Vietnamese refugees, never in a million years did my parents ever think I’d return to Asia and Vietnam for any reason, much less several times a year to represent agents and hundreds of EB-5 investors. A year or two ago we were negotiating third-party sponsorships, writing expert witness reports, and getting multi-state regional centers approved. Now there’s increased demand for structuring compliant EB-5 redeployment deals that preserve developer flexibility (and investor eligibility) as well as private lenders/funds to allow RCs and issuers to help investors fund their EB-5 investments and overcome currency restrictions.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE PANDEMIC HAS IMPACTED THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?

Not only did we see the number of I-526 petitions drop worldwide, but for the first time ever, America was arguably no longer the shining destination it was in years past. However, it also gave a chance for more creative stakeholders to reassess how they’d conduct business and support their EB-5 partners worldwide. We found increasing success (and gratitude from our agents/partners) with using webinars as both a promotional tool and a one-on-one consultation tool. I see no reason why Zoom/WhatsApp/WeChat/Google Meet will fade away anytime soon. In addition to the big flashy seminars of the past, I see these as convenient overlays to keep deals going even as we return to our countries.

NIRAL PATEL

Niral Patel is a partner at David Hirson & Partners, LLP. Patel meets with investors to guide them through the EB-5 process, including source of funds, aging out children, and how the EB-5 visa works in conjunction with other visas. Additionally, Patel formulates strategies for regional center, advises businesses on EB-5 structuring, and to ensure EB-5 compliance. This includes preparing I-526 templates, advising on issues of material change and redeployment, and preparing I-829 templates. Lastly, Patel represents immigrants in federal court at both the I-526 and I-829 stages for applications that have been pending beyond the normal processing times.

WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY? WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE?

Before becoming a lawyer, I thought the only way for Indians to successfully immigrate to the U.S. was either through the H-1B program or family-based immigration, which have extremely long wait-times. When I came across the EB-5 program, I saw the program as an alternative to the H-1B program and family-based petition. It’s a program that offers flexibility where applicants no longer need to be tied to a specific employer, families can live wherever they choose, and applications can be made in the name of younger adults who wish to come to the U.S. to attend universities.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE PANDEMIC HAS IMPACTED THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?

Highnetworth individuals who have experienced market loss may be less inclined to invest through the EB-5 market as they search elsewhere for higher returns to recoup their losses. Construction has halted or delayed. Operationally, some projects have had to close during peak pandemic such as hotels. Presidential proclamations have suspended and limited entry into the U.S. from China, Iran, European Schengen area, the U.K., Republic of Ireland, Brazil, and South Africa. Service Centers and the National Visa Center are now operating at limited capacity. U.S. embassies/consulates around the world have been operating at zero to limited capacity.

DENNIS TRISTANI

Dennis Tristani is a partner at Donoso & Partners, LLC and his primary areas of concentration include U.S. immigration petition filings for investors, entrepreneurs, executives, managers, and high-skilled professionals. Tristani has counseled thousands of EB-5 clients on company organization and corporate structure strategy, business plan preparation, complex source of funds issues and documentation requirements, redeployment and at-risk rules, and TEA designation. Tristani has presented at numerous immigration conferences and seminars in the U.S. and around the world. Tristani received his B.A. from Yale University in 2007, and his J.D. from American University Washington College of Law in 2012.

WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY? WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE?

I have been practicing immigration law exclusively since December of 2012 and began practicing in the EB-5 space in December of 2013 when I joined Donoso & Partners, LLC (formerly I.A. Donoso & Associates, LLC). I have been very fortunate to practice alongside my mentor in this field, Ignacio Donoso, our firm’s managing partner. I look forward to continuing to help new individual investor and regional center clients navigate the EB-5 process, which I strongly believe will continue to contribute positively to the U.S. economy and workforce, especially during these difficult times.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE PANDEMIC HAS IMPACTED THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?

The new EB-5 regulations coupled with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the EB-5 industry. USCIS I-526 receipts for Q2-Q4 of FY 2020 totaled just 123 petitions and USCIS I-526 processing times have slowed significantly during 2020. EB-5 projects have also gone through difficult times financially due to the economic fallout from the pandemic. On the positive side, the pandemic’s slowdown of consular processing has resulted in an increase in EB-5 visas available in 2021. New EB-5 projects have come to market as the global economy recovers and individuals are looking to the U.S. again for EB-5 investment opportunities.

F. OLIVER YANG

As an experienced EB-5 attorney, F. Oliver Yang is involved in various stages throughout the EB-5 process, including the preparation and filing of I-526 petitions, filing a response to requests for evidence, preparing clients for consular processing interviews, and filing I-829 condition removal petitions. Yang is known for his creative approach when handling challenging cases that require personal attention and meticulous representation. Yang received his LL.B from Renmin University of China and his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is recognized in the 2021 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY? WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE?

As an immigrant who came to the U.S. as an adult, I understand the issues and challenges faced by many new immigrants. I got involved in the EB-5 industry because it is an area of practice that combines my language ability and cultural background with my passion for cutting-edge issues in immigration law. As a member of the EB-5 community, it is my hope that we can continue educating the public about the enormous benefits that the EB-5 program provides, and help improve the integrity of the program to guarantee its health and longevity in the decades to come.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE PANDEMIC HAS IMPACTED THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?

The pandemic has presented both challenges and opportunities to the EB-5 industry. In the midst of loss and devastation, the pandemic has also forced the industry to take an extraordinary digital leap into the future. This has not only opened up new ways for us to connect with our clients and partners all over the world, but also created emerging business concepts that could serve as pathways to the program’s long-term prosperity.

EB5Investors.com Staff

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