Do Regional Centers usually provide immigration counsel for their EB-5 investors? Or would the investors have to acquire their own attorney?
Each Regional Center handles this differently. Some are a "closed shop" (i.e., you must use their attorney or go away), others provided a list of "preferred providers," others leave this entirely to the investor.
Some regional centers require investors to use a lawyer or law firm recommended by the regional center. The rationale is that these cases are complicated and everyone has a lot riding on the outcome. Another point is that the lawyer or law firm is intimately familiar with the regional center and its development projects, so the lawyer or law firm will do a better job. While there is probably some truth to these rationales, at the end of the day it is unethical for a regional center to require their investors to use a particular lawyer or law firm to prepare the investors'' I-526 petitions.
Some regional centers have their own attorneys and others may refer attorneys. It would be wise to seek an attorney that does not have a conflict of interest with you and your regional center.
