What can I do to properly evaluate the success of my EB-5 project?

An immigration attorney and a financial advisor will help you with all of the due diligence on a project.

To provide due diligence and evaluate the business, financial and investment viability of an EB-5 project, you can retain the services of a registered investment advisor, as well as a certified public accountant that has experience and expertise in the industry sector of the EB-5 project. Also, an EB-5 immigration attorney can provide you immigration due diligence as to the immigration compliance of the project documentation (business plan, economic report, security offering documentation, etc.) and approveability by the U.S. immigration service.

You should retain an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney and a licensed investment broker.

There are at least two professionals you may want to consult: First, an EB-5 attorney and, second, a due diligence analyst who will help evaluate and assemble a due diligence report on any planned EB-5 project/investment. Also, consider working with a regional center to further evaluate the project.

It is very difficult to find an independent third party to evaluate your project, particularly from a business point of view. An attorney with significant experience in representing EB-5 investors and projects could evaluate how secure the proposed investment is from a legal point of view, but not necessarily from a risk point of view. Given the paucity of professional financial advisors who focus on EB-5 projects, the best way to do this would be to make sure you invest with an experienced developer who has had a history of success in developing his or her projects and returning investor funds.

Yes, you need to locate a due diligence specialist that carefully reviews projects for risk.

Please note that EB-5 investment is like any other investment/securities project, where your funds will be put at risk. Therefore, you should consult with a licensed investment broker who could evaluate your investment options. In addition, because EB-5 investment also has an immigration component that is dependent on the number of jobs the project is expected to create per investor, your investment advisor also should have EB-5 experience. That way, the advisor could objectively look at the jobs number and the economics report of that project. There are EB-5 due diligence companies and investment advisors who could help you. You should try to avoid only relying on the migration agents or other professionals who represent regional centers/projects.

There are some due diligence companies that can verify the background of the project. A good EB-5 immigration attorney will help verify that you are protected on the legal side of things. I also recommend using an independent financial analyst to evaluate the financial viability of the project.

Doing thorough due diligence on the project history, financing, personnel, etc. is the key to properly vet the EB-5 Project. You can consult with attorneys, having them work with you in conducting due diligence.