I am from South Korea and am starting my EB-5 journey. I have hired the help of a lawyer who assisted a friend of mine. So far, so good; we have been looking at projects and reviewing my funds. But my friend applied about ten years ago, and I know the program has been renewed, and a lot has changed. I would like to know what services to expect from my attorney, the do’s and don’ts. I previously studied my Master’s degree in the U.S., and I know how to deal with legal paperwork. But I need to know the fundamentals. How can I make sure my attorney is giving me the right service to get the EB-5 visa? Equally important, would changing my attorney hurt my application process?
Answers
Bernard P Wolfsdorf
Immigration Attorneys DirectoryIf you have a competent lawyer, they should be able to advise you on all aspects of the program and if they do not have the skillset, the good ones usually know who to recommend you to.
Lynne Feldman
Immigration Attorneys DirectoryAn attorney can facilitate meetings with any projects you are interested in, review the project documents, help you compile a list of questions to ask the Regional Center to assist in making your decision such as “What is the immigration track record for I-526’s, I-829’s, the investor getting funds returned,” “Is your I-956 approved? May we have a copy,” etc. An attorney can’t advise you which project to invest in nor do the financial analysis to determine if it is a good investment; but can steer you to professionals if you don’t feel you want to do this yourself. Once you have selected the Regional Center, sometimes there is room to negotiate the administrative fee.
The Project documents are the most important along with your legal source of fund, completion of the I-526 and working with the business plan writer to show the funds will be invested in the project and the creation of ten new jobs.
It should not hurt your case to change attorneys to someone you are comfortable with. If you have already paid a prior attorney, then you will need to negotiate with them any return of funds for work not done.
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