Questions and Answers > EB-5 Requirements

Where should the EB-5 attorney I hire be located?

Should I hire an EB-5 attorney in the same area as the regional center project I am interested in or can I appoint one from a different state to help me monitor the progress of the project? If an attorney from the same area as the project is preferred, how can I find out whether they have connections with the project that I will invest in?

Answers

• Jimena G Cabrera

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 21, 2016

  The attorney can be located anywhere in the United States. On selecting an attorney, I would suggest focusing your attention on experience and quality of service.

• Jinhee Wilde

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 16, 2016

  Your EB-5 attorney could be located anywhere in United States. With most of the work being done via email and Dropbox documents, there is no reason to have your attorney located near the regional center project. The key is how responsive the attorney is to their clients does the attorney respond to you, and reviews and takes care of the work promptly? What is the quality of the attorney's work and do you feel that you could trust and work well with him or her?

• Fredrick W Voigtmann

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  The geographic location of the immigration attorney you retain is not an important factor in my opinion. Far more important is the attorney's EB-5 experience and how committed the attorney is to zealously representing you and your best interests in your immigration case. Also, you probably want an attorney without significant connections to the project you invest in. You can ask the attorney about it before you decide to retain him or her.

• Raymond Lahoud

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  As to hiring an attorney, it is important that you hire the best. Experience, dedication and knowledge are crucial. The practice of immigration law is not limited by state boundaries. Also, connections to the project are irrelevant. Your immigration attorney is not to serve as a "broker/dealer," for lack of a better word, trying to sell you a certain regional center or the like. Your attorney is here to represent you and any link he or she may have to a regional center should be irrelevant and, quite possibly, could lead to a conflict of interest. Retain the best immigration attorney.

• Bernard P Wolfsdorf

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  The most important aspect is to hire a competent lawyer. With modern communications, geographical location is close to irrelevant.

• Lynne Feldman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  Your immigration attorney may be located anywhere. Just make sure they are familiar with EB-5 work and you are comfortable with them.

• Ying Lu

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  You can hire immigration attorneys in any state. Your attorney does not need to be in the same area as the project. If you are not sure if the project-recommended attorney has a conflict of interest with the project, just bring up the question to the project-recommended attorney, or look for the conflict of interest waiver in the attorney's retainer agreement. We always insist that a client should have the freedom to choose their own attorney.

• Julia Roussinova

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  You do not have to hire an attorney where a project is located. Hire an experienced EB-5 attorney in any state who has substantial EB-5 experience.

• Abhinav Lohia

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  Immigration law is federal law, therefore you can hire an attorney from any state. I am not sure whether you want the attorney to have connections with the project or not. If an attorney is involved in the project there is a possibility of conflict of interest. An attorney should be telling you the pros and cons of the projects, which will be hard to do if the attorney has been compensated by the regional center for drafting the project paperwork.

• Salvatore Picataggio

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  The physical location of your immigration attorney does not need to be the same as the EB-5 project. We represent clients from all over the world investing in projects all over the United States.

• Vaughan de Kirby

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  You want to hire the most qualified investment immigration attorney. They need not be located in any particular city. The attorney recommended by your regional center may be well-qualified. The only issue that can arise is the potential conflict of interest, which you can discuss with the attorney of your choice.

• A Olusanjo Omoniyi

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  You do not need to hire an EB-5 attorney from the same area as the regional center project. Also, the attorney you hire does not need to be connected with the project that you plan to invest in. Feel free to consult an EB-5 attorney before proceeding further.

• Olivia Orza

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  The attorney can be located anywhere in the United States.

• John J Downey

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  The attorney need not be from the same area as the project. You might prefer someone located near the project for purposes of inspection and review. You need to ask if the attorney is connected with the project.

• Ian E Scott

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on March 15, 2016

  There is no need for the attorney to be close to the EB-5 regional center and no real benefit for this.