Immigration attorneys help developers create EB-5-compliant projects. Typically, this involves the formation of a multidisciplinary team of professionals who put together all the necessary documentation, including securities offering documents and an economic analysis. Immigration attorneys can also help project developers apply for regional center designation and gain exemplar status. Essentially, a good immigration attorney can advise a project developer on how to comply with the EB-5 program’s numerous complex guidelines.

An immigration attorney’s guidance is critical in every step of the EB-5 process. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires project developers to assemble a large set of documents regarding the project’s legal and financial information. It can be challenging to gather this documentation without the expertise of an immigration attorney.

Typically, the first step in documenting an EB-5 project is to provide evidence of its targeted employment area (TEA) designation, if applicable. Then, the project developers must determine how many jobs will be generated by the job-creating entity (JCE). With the projected number of jobs in mind, the project must then determine how much EB-5 capital it will seek to raise. The EB-5 program requires a minimum of 10 jobs per investor, so a project with potential for creating 100 jobs could take on no more than 10 EB-5 investors. Developers are highly recommended to aim for more than 10 jobs per investor, which will make the project safer and more appealing to foreign nationals.

Before opening the project to investors, the developers need a detailed, comprehensive business plan, an employment creation analysis supporting the projected job creation, and legal documents such as a private placement memorandum (PPM) and articles of entity formation. In addition, there must be an exit strategy in place for investors and proof that the EB-5 capital will be irrevocably committed to the project.