I am an investor from Vietnam and looking into investing directly in an EB-5 project (my wife’s relatives living already in the United States) or through a regional center. I know that I should hire an EB-5 attorney to help me figure out the process, but I see that there’s the option to also get a broker dealer. Is it necessary to hire a broker dealer to choose an EB-5 investment? Can the lawyer I hire do the same work?
Answers
Bernard P Wolfsdorf
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyVery few lawyers are quailed as broker-dealers to advise on investment projects nor are they qualified to do due diligence analysis.
Lynne Feldman
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyLawyers are not allowed to select a project for you, but they can give you information on projects with good immigration track records or connect you with the Principal in the project for you to evaluate the project for your investment.
Benjamin Hu
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThis is up to the individual attorney. However, immigration attorneys specialize in immigration law, and broker-dealers must be licensed under a separate body (the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, for one). Some attorneys may have qualifications in both fields, and be willing to act as a broker-dealer. Many do not.
Aside from the question of simple licensure and competence, there is the additional question of the lawyer's fiduciary duty to the client. When an attorney merely serves as an immigration law advisor, it keeps the entire ethical layout very simple: the attorney serves the EB-5 investor's immigration interests solely.
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