参与 EB-5 程序的各方

Foreign Intermediaries

A foreign intermediary, otherwise referred to as an “immigration agent”, is a professional who connects prospective EB-5 immigrants to investment issuers/regional centers looking to raise EB-5 capital. Agents are located outside the United States and work with investors who may need translation assistance or guidance to understand the needs for their immigration process. Often times investors prefer to work with someone local to overcome language and cultural barriers and the agents can provide foreign nationals insight into EB-5 investment opportunities and the immigration process, assist with documenting and organizing source of funds, connecting with an experienced attorney, and help with immigration needs local to their state of operation, such as foreign remittance and local tax compliance. Consulting with a foreign intermediary is often the starting point for many immigrant investors, especially those living outside the U.S.

Agents are typically compensated via a commission from the investment investment issuer. Due to the fact these agents typically conduct businesses outside the U.S. – and therefore outside of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) jurisdiction – legal oversight surrounding their representations, methods and project proposals is limited. To support investors looking for an agent to begin or take over their EB-5 process, AIIA has put together a list of foreign intermediaries from different countries who support AIIA’s mission of safeguarding the interests of EB-5 investors globally.

Investment Specialists

EB-5 investment specialists, also known as “Private Placement Consultants”, are licensed professionals who help investors conduct due diligence on EB-5 projects. These professionals  evaluate a potential project’s risks and rewards, job-creation predictions, offering documents, and a variety of other relevant factors. These specialists can offer unbiased investment advice about EB-5 projects, and will even help an investor select a project which corresponds with the investor’s immigration and investment goals. What is commonly misunderstood by EB-5 investors is that investment specialists – who are objectively best suited to recommend investment offerings to EB-5 investors – are not compensated by the investor. Their service fees are included into the administrative fees in an investment offering, meaning that the investor is not obligated to pay the specialist for any services. 

Investment specialists are required to comply with the laws and policies laid out by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and must be registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), an independent, non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business with the U.S. public. FINRA-registered representatives are charged by the U.S. Congress to protect investors by making sure the securities industry operates transparently and honestly, and must undergo a thorough background check before they can advise on EB-5 investments. Another notable advantage of using Private Placement Consultants is they can often connect investors to EB-5 projects which are not easy to find online.

These specialists are also required to be independent from any other parties involved in the EB-5 process. To further assist you in your decision-making, we have compiled a list of investment specialists based on feedback from AIIA members who have utilized their services, as well as their support of AIIA’s mission.

Immigration Attorneys

Immigration attorneys are the EB-5 investors’ most reliable asset for navigating the EB-5 process. They assist investors with filing all immigration paperwork submitted to the USCIS, including preparing source of fund documentations and reviewing project offering documents, all while ensuring their clients receive the most ideal outcome in their immigration process.

Their primary role is to ensure a project is structured to meet the strict requirements of the EB-5 program and prepare immigration petitions and supporting documentation to be filed with USCIS, the Department of State (DOS) and all subsidiary agencies, educate their clients on what to expect from the immigration process, and find solutions to problems which may arise throughout the course of immigration. 

Attorneys who are not registered investment consultants are barred from recommending investment opportunities to their clients. While immigration attorneys can answer basic questions about how an investment opportunity may affect the immigration process, they are not licensed to give investment advice or recommend investment opportunities. If your attorney is referring you towards projects directly, it may be a sign they have some form of compensatory system with the investment issuer, or may not have the highest standards for legal compliance. If you are looking to retain or change your immigration attorney, AIIA has put together a list of experienced and trusted EB-5 immigration attorneys who can guide investors through their immigration process.

Securities Attorney

Investors may choose to hire separate attorneys specializing in financial securities to evaluate their investment project’s legal documents pertaining to the use of investors’ funds for sound project structuring, compliance with relevant securities laws, and any protections offered to investors against financial loss. Although they are not necessary to the EB-5 process, they can be incredibly helpful at evaluating project documents further and reviewing Private Placement Memorandum for foresight into any contractual red flags or issues they anticipate in the future. In fact, many investors consult a securities attorney near the end of their process to learn more about constraints surrounding repayment of their investment, such as where an investor’s funds have been mismanaged. These attorneys can assist EB-5 investors at any time, depending on their needs.

Investment Issuers

Investment issuers are companies which sell securities to fund their internal operations (and make a profit). Investment issuers can be, but are not always, referred to as “regional centers” in the EB-5 context. These issuers oversee the investment process and manage an investor’s funds throughout the EB-5 process. Investment issuers most often take the role of managing the fund which collects investment capital from multiple EB-5 investors and conducts all business with investors. In fact, any typical offering documents for a project will be signed between an investment issuer and an investor rather than an investor and the project developer directly.

Developers/Project Sponsors

A project developer can be an individual or a corporation in charge of developing the EB-5 project. This party oversees all direct project management such as construction, obtaining permits, and so forth. In certain cases, a developer may own and operate the project and raise EB-5 capital as the issuer for their own project.