How do I choose a good regional center?

You should engage in your own due diligence efforts and research not only Regional Centers that interest you but also their past and currently available projects. Past performance does not necessarily mean a future project is going to be successful. However, certain Regional Centers use the same business model for future projects that ensures stability and predictability of investment. Your investment must still be "at risk" to qualify for EB-5 visa. You may engage the services of an investment broker or financial adviser knowledgeable in EB-5 to review the terms of a particular project or projects. Immigration attorneys specializing in EB-5 visas would also be able to give you insights on specific Regional Centers and their projects.

Although regional center history and track record is important, past performance is not an indicator of future performance. You should analyze the current project a particular center is offering and decide if you believe the fundamentals of the business are sound. Under the EB-5 regulations the capital must be "at risk", as such there can be no guarantee for a return of your capital investment. For further information please contact Rahbaran & Associates.

I am an immigration attorney and I also own a firm, EB-5 Analytics, that provides due diligence advice to EB-5 investors. To start, we don''t recommend that investors just look to regional centers or EB-5 project management firms with a history of I-829 approvals when deciding where to place investment capital. We have over 100 factors we look at when evaluating EB-5 projects.

Preservation of capital is very important and that is a very important part of the regional center selection. This is a business decision and needs to be carefully reviewed with counsel as to protection and likelihood of return of capital.

Those regional centers that have had successful track records usually have completed their planned projects. But they may come out with new type of projects. In other words, you should not look for regional centers but look for projects that you find appealing that make business sense. Just for reference, you can check out some of the following regional centers that have been around for relatively longer periods: CMB Regional centers, USA Continental Regional Center, Philadelphia PIDC Regional center, Pennsylvania DCED Regional center, Hawaii Regional Center, and Los Angeles County Regional Center CanAM Enterprise.

There are several factors you may consider when you choose a project and a regional center. The experience of the management team, the track records of its previous projects on both I-526s and I-829s, the type of the investment, i.e. a loan based or equity based, other partners involved, the repayment structure and exit strategy, etc. You need to hire an EB-5 attorney and a business attorney to review the offering documents provided by the regional center for each project.

Do your research! It''s just like other investments (stocks, bonds, etc.).

You must perform the same due diligence in choosing a regional center as you would before making any major investment. There are investment advisers who could assist you. I know of regional centers that have established track records, although you must remember that your money will always be "at risk". If you contact my office for a consultation, I can give you more information about these issues.

Immigration attorneys cannot give investment advice and thus cannot advise you on either the financial viability or the profitability of any project. If your main concern is your investment return and the security of your capital, you may want to consult with a properly licensed stock broker or investment consultant. There have been cases where the regional center projects failed. Please also keep in mind that to meet the EB-5 requirements, your investment has to be "at-risk" and thus any guaranteed return or redemption may run afoul of the current rules and regulations.

Before you start the selection process for a regional center, you should retain an immigration attorney specialized in this type of visa process. The immigration attorney is not qualified to give you any financial advice, but you can ask the attorney which regional centers they have experience working with and how many approvals they have received with regional centers. The immigration attorney usually has first hand knowledge of the managers of the projects and may be able to give you a track record of those managers. We are available is you need any assistance in this matter.

The best way to lower the risk of investment is to do your own due diligence before you make any investment. Though there are more than 200 regional centers on the market, most of them have not reached the time to repay the investment capitals. In addition, there is no official and public track record on the repayment or the approval rates of I-526 and I-829 for each regional center. Therefore, there are no sufficient and meaningful data for us to find. Experienced EB-5 attorneys may have more information regarding the track records. You can also send inquiries to your interested regional centers about those questions.

This is a million dollar question. Unfortunately, like any business and/or investment there are inherent risks within the EB5 program. While no reputable and legitimate RC will or can guarantee the investment, you need to conduct your own due diligence to ascertain the RC''s track record before making the investment. Keep in mind that past success does not guarantee future success. As to the return on investment, that varies from RC to RC, so read the offering packet carefully.

In order to choose a regional center that meets your criteria, you must do your due diligence. I understand that it could be overwhelming as there are over 250 Regional Center that have been designated by the USCIS. However, out of all of them only about 20+ regional centers actually have real projects and of those only half of them have I-526 and I-829 approval history. As to return of capital, it depends on the exit strategy of the project. Most of the early regional center projects have been on long-term equity projects, which means the investors should have known that unless the project gets sold, they will hold that investment and keep getting ROI annually. More recently, several regional centers have been doing loan-based projects where the regional center works like a bank and lends money to the project for 5-6 years. If the project is successful and remains solvent, the investors could be repaid with the maturity of the loan by refinancing, proceeds or forced sale of the project. However, it all depends on the loan document and what the exit clause states as to who gets paid back first and how. Therefore, ask the regional centers of 2 things at the very least: (1) How many EB-5 projects have you successfully done? How many I-526 and I-829 approvals?; (2) What is the exit strategy to get the investment returned after I-829? Get detailed explanation and language.

The best way to select a good Regional center is by either hiring a financial expert to help you in the process or select the Regional Center depending on their track record for approvals of I-526 and I-829 applications.

Each center is different but if you choose a center that has been around for several years and select a viable project, your chances are good on the return of principal. I do this for my clients prior to signing up.

It is very difficult to answer your question. However, you will need to conduct your due diligence and research the Regional Centers that you are interested in investing. Also, keep in mind that there are only a handful of viable regional centers that are fully operational at the present time. You should talk with the management team of each Regional Center and gather as much information as possible. Also, another important factor in evaluating a viable regional center would have to be their line of business and whether or not their core business will be affected at all by the various conditions in the economy, such as real estate based Regional Centers. There are excellent and active Regional Centers that have been in operation for sometime now.

The key to finding a good/reliable/reputable Regional Center (RC) is to do proper due diligence. Have the RC provide references from past projects, approval rates for EB-5 filing, records of any SEC violations, immigration violations, etc. You need to get full information and disclosure from the RC whose project you are considering putting your money into. In terms of whether or not the RC would return the full capital invested, that would be up to the specified terms of your agreement with the RC. Good luck in your decision.

Choosing a good regional center is an important way for you to minimize, but not to eliminate, your risk (financial and immigration risk). Some financial risk (but not unreasonably high risk) is a requirement of the EB-5 law. You should hire a professional to perform the necessary due diligence and advise you on the benefits and dangers of participating in any regional center''s particular EB-5 investment project. The person should NOT be affiliated with any particular regional center, and the person should NOT be just an immigration attorney. You need a licensed and experienced financial adviser to answer your questions regarding safety/return of your principal. There are such professionals listed on the eb5investors.com website and elsewhere. If you want legal advice and immigration representation when you finally decide on which investment projects meets your expectations, then you should contact an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney.

There are a number of factors to look at including the background of the developers. It is important to note that it is not necessarily the history of the regional center but the project itself. It is important also to discuss with an experienced attorney.

First you should retain the services of an experienced EB-5 attorney who can advise you on the immigration history of an EB-5 Regional Center project. Second, retain the services of a business or investment adviser who can analyze the business and financial viability of an EB5 Regional Center project. Please remember your personal investment is at risk with no guarantees of the success of the project. Furthermore, the project can not offer you redemption agreements promising you the return of the investment.

EB-5 cases have two components: 1. The immigration application for permanent residence and 2. The Financial Investment. We advise all of our clients that it is a MUST to have a qualified, reputable financial adviser to help you do your due diligence on the regional centers.