Questions and Answers > EB-5 Investments

How do investors find EB-5 projects?

Do EB-5 attorneys look for projects for their potential EB-5 investor? If so, how does one go about it? I have a few projects that needs to be funded. Real estate management co, development company, food manufacturing, online consumer retail store, national call center, and financial lending.

Answers

• Reza Rahbaran

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 20, 2014

  An EB-5 attorney can show you a list of projects that you can invest in and also review a project for you. Another method is working with a licensed broker to recommend a specific project.

• Dawn M Lurie

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 16, 2013

  Unfortunately there is no public or private listing of open EB-5 projects. However, the USCIS does offer a listing of Regional Centers on its website. Only licensed brokers in the U.S. should be recommending specific EB-5 projects. The majority of investors participating in the EB-5 program invest in projects associated with regional centers and those projects can be located by contacting the regional centers. While some regional centers only fund their own projects, some host or loan funds to unrelated projects. Project developers can approach regional centers to determine if there is possible synergy between the parties. We strongly recommend having counsel represent you before negotiating any service agreement. Established regional centers work hard at opening marketing channels to attract investors and that access is invaluable to funding any successful EB-5 project. Both project developers and regional centers alike should conduct ample due diligence before entering into an investment arrangement. An EB-5 legal team can help you determine whether your projects could work with a regional center investment model, can assist you in finding the right regional center partner and can also properly structure the transaction. Finally keep in mind, that not all projects are good candidates for regional centers. Some projects, especially smaller ones, may be better candidates for the direct investment model.

• Mahsa Aliaskari

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on July 9, 2013

  This will depend on where the investor is located and how they decided to pursue the EB-5 visa option. In China there is large system of brokers marketing projects. Investors may also defer to immigration attorneys who may guide them in identifying active Regional Centers and open projects. The investor should conduct due diligence though business consultants and corporate securities attorneys in collaboration with the EB-5 immigration attorney.

• Julia Roussinova

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 27, 2013

  You may contact migration agents overseas and establish professional relationships locally, such as immigration attorneys. Basically, you should engage in your own marketing efforts but before you do that, ensure your projects are compliant with EB-5 program.

• Marisa Casablanca

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 24, 2013

  Investors trust their immigration attorney to guide them through the process. They usually ask the attorney which projects they have been successful in obtaining the residency for their clients. You must establish a relationship with an immigration attorney in order to reach out to their clients. This is done by referring clients that contact you directly. Upon establishing a working relationship with that attorney, they will be more comfortable guiding investors to your project. We are available if you need further information.

• Shahzad Q Qadri

  RC Creator

  Answered on June 24, 2013

  There are various options. One is getting in touch with EB-5 Attorneys, another option is working with Immigration Brokers.

• Rohit Kapuria

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 24, 2013

  This is a task for migration agents, not for EB-5 attorneys. Countries such as China have many established migration agents that can tap into the market for investors. If you are planning on having a regional center sponsor your project, then some regional centers have established networks through which your project can be introduced to investors. There is also a growing demand for direct EB-5 projects, but you would still need to be connected with an agent.

• Jeffrey E Campion

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 24, 2013

  Generally speaking yes, EB-5 attorneys show projects to or review projects with their clients.

• BoBi Ahn

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 24, 2013

  There are various ways in which an EB-5 investor may find projects to invest in. If an investor is interested in investing through a Regional Center, there are Regional Center Listings available from USCIS, or through brokers that deal with EB-5 capitalized projects, and sometimes through the Immigration Attorneys that may know of projects being developed with EB-5 funding, or processed their clients previously through, etc. The key is to vet the projects and thoroughly conduct due diligence to make sure that the project is legitimate and can provide the necessary documentations to support the EB-5 Petition.

• Fredrick W Voigtmann

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 24, 2013

  Immigration attorneys without the proper licensing and disclosure should not recommend financial products to any potential investor. An immigration attorney might provide a client with a list of regional centers, which is available on the USCIS website, and give the client information about the attorney''s experiences with any of those regional centers. The attorney should be careful not to recommend a particular investment, but providing the client with the contact information and with instructions to the client to do his or her own due diligence on the financial aspects of the investment would be acceptable.

• Mark Ivener

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 24, 2013

  There is no registry of EB-5 projects. Through years of experience, some immigration attorneys give multiple options or places for investors to look.

• Boyd Campbell

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 24, 2013

  Immigration lawyers generally know whether their clients are wealthy enough to participate in the EB-5 Program.

• Stephen Berman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 24, 2013

  Someone has to sell it to them. An attorney can advise them of several different projects. Many centers try to search for investors who live outside of the U.S., who want to move to the U.S.