What is an EB-5 migration agent?

They are in essence immigration brokers who find investors for projects.

Migration agents are middle persons that promote regional centers'' offerings abroad and assist prospective EB-5 investors with their personal and financial paperwork for a fee. They must be licensed to work with applicants in the United States.

Generally they are individuals in direct contact with client, and are of the same country. They may or may not live in the States.

They find investors overseas for US EB 5 projects.

They are middlemen to help the Region Center recruit and find investors.

"Migration Agent" is the term commonly used to refer to an offshore agent, who is licensed in their country, that procures citizens of foreign countries to invest in EB-5 projects. This is distinct from a "Migration Consultant" or "EB-5 Consultant" which is typically a US person (or company) that specializes in helping US companies raising money via the EB-5 Program to package and market their projects for EB-5 investment and engage with Migration Agents.

Many EB-5 Migration agents are located abroad and they are marketing agent for various Regional Centers. They are paid finder''s fee by the Regional Centers to promote the projects of those Regional Centers. Thus, it is advisable for the investors/applicants to verify the information given to them by these migration agents by doing their own research and getting second opinions.

They are offshore broker dealers. As broker dealers, they introduce investors to the project company desiring capital. They typically act on behalf of the investors but are retained by the project company to raise capital.

They work abroad and promote regional centers.

Authorized and licensed migration agents normally identify prospective investors in their target market and then may, depending on their skill, present a project to the prospective investor. They normally need to be licensed by the home country and bonded.

In the EB-5 arena the migration agent is usually a representative of investors from countries like China and interfaces with the commercial enterprise where the money is to be invested. Most of these agents are out of the United States. If any investment placement is done in the United States needs is subject to certain security and exchange (SEC) regulations.

Migration agents are intermediaries between regional centers and foreign investors. They introduce EB-5 projects to foreign investors and generally work with applicants outside the United States. Due to language and cultural differences and marketing budget constraints, they are utilized extensively by regional centers wishing to market their projects to foreign investors overseas.

Many EB-5 migration agents were involved with other U.S. visa programs, such as students or H-2B workers, before getting involved in the EB-5 immigrant visa program. Generally, these agents work with prospective investors and help them prepare the personal paperwork, such as tax and financial information, necessary to support an I-526 petition in exchange for a fee.

A migration agent is a foreign consultant that assists with placement of individual investors into regional center projects. Migration agents often assist regional centers or project companies with promotion of their EB-5 offerings abroad. Migration agents are primarily based in China, the largest EB-5 market. Migration agents must be licensed broker/ dealers to work with applicants in the U.S.