An EB-5 case spans immigration, securities, corporate, and tax law. The attorney’s role is not simply to complete forms but to manage the source-of-funds case, review the offering documents, and carry the file through both the I-526E and I-829 stages. This article explains what investors should verify when selecting counsel. It does not recommend any particular attorney or firm.
Basic credentials to verify
| Item | What to check |
|---|---|
| Bar admission | The person must be an attorney admitted to the bar of a U.S. state, not merely an “immigration consultant.” Admission status and disciplinary history can be checked on the state bar’s website. |
| EB-5 focus | Immigration law is broad. Confirm that the attorney has handled EB-5 cases continuously in recent years and is familiar with post-RIA rules on I-526E, I-956F, and concurrent filing. |
| Source-of-funds experience | Fund tracing and currency-transfer explanations for investors from mainland China have particular features. Ask about experience with gifts, real estate sales, business distributions, and loans. |
| I-829 experience | Removal of conditions involves sustainment, job evidence, and project changes, which is different work from the I-526E. Counsel who handle only the front end may not be suited to the whole case. |
| Team and language | Confirm who handles day-to-day communication, whether Chinese-language support is available, and how much the attorney personally participates. |
Questions to ask at the first meeting
- How many EB-5 cases have you handled in the past three years, and how many were post-RIA I-526E filings?
- Do you represent any regional center, developer, or project sponsor? Do you receive any compensation or referral fees from them?
- What do you expect the main difficulties in my source of funds to be, and what documents will you need?
- Which stages does the fee cover? Are RFEs, NOIDs, and the I-829 billed separately?
- If the project runs into trouble or the regional center is terminated, what assistance can you provide?
- Who is my day-to-day contact, and what is the expected response time?
- Do you review the offering documents, or should I retain separate securities or corporate counsel?
Whether the attorney answers directly and is willing to confirm in writing is itself an important signal.
Conflicts of interest: who pays the attorney
A common arrangement in the EB-5 industry is for a regional center or migration agent to “recommend” an attorney whose fee is paid by the regional center. This is not automatically improper, but investors should understand what it means:
- Who is the client? If the attorney also drafts the regional center’s offering documents or depends on its referrals, independence in assessing project risk may be compromised.
- U.S. professional conduct rules generally require that, when a third party pays the fee, the client gives informed consent and the arrangement does not interfere with the attorney’s independent judgment. Investors are entitled to ask for written disclosure of every relationship and compensation arrangement with the regional center, developer, and agent.
- The safer approach is for the investor to retain and pay counsel directly, so that the attorney answers only to the investor and can independently review the PPM, subscription agreement, and loan documents.
The RIA requires direct and third-party promoters, including migration agents, to register on Form I-956K, and requires persons involved with a regional center to file bona fides declarations on Form I-956H. Investors can ask to see these registrations as part of verifying who they are dealing with.
Fee structures
This article gives no dollar figures; it describes common structures so that investors can compare:
| Structure | Features | Points to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Flat fee by stage | Separate quotes for I-526E, I-485 or consular processing, and I-829 | Whether RFE and NOID responses are included |
| Flat fee, bundled | One quote covering all stages | How fees for stages not yet reached are handled if counsel changes |
| Hourly | Billed by time | Suited to complex source-of-funds cases, but the total is hard to predict |
| Hybrid | Base flat fee plus hourly for work outside scope | Define the scope boundary precisely |
Whatever the structure, there should be a written engagement letter stating the scope of services, fees, payment timing, and each party’s right to terminate. USCIS filing fees, translation, and third-party valuation costs are normally borne by the investor separately and should be listed in the agreement.
Red flags
- Promises of “guaranteed approval” or hints of special relationships with USCIS.
- Unwillingness to disclose relationships with regional centers or agents in writing.
- A casual attitude toward source of funds, such as suggesting the narrative can be “written up loosely.”
- Requests to sign blank or unexplained documents or authorizations.
- No engagement letter, or one without a defined scope of services.
- Refusal to say who does the day-to-day work or whether the attorney is personally involved.
- Claims to handle unrelated securities or tax matters without relevant qualifications.
Working relationship and the investor’s role
Counsel can only work from what the investor provides. To improve efficiency and reduce RFE risk:
- Build a source-of-funds document list under the attorney’s guidance, organized chronologically with originals and translations.
- Disclose any uncertain step in the movement of funds honestly rather than attempting to tidy it up.
- Keep all written communications with the regional center, agent, and attorney.
- Before signing the subscription agreement, confirm that counsel has reviewed the offering documents and provided a written opinion.
- After the conditional green card is approved, agree on an I-829 preparation timeline and keep monitoring project progress disclosed in the regional center’s annual statements (I-956G).
Key takeaways
- Verify that the attorney is admitted to a U.S. state bar and has continuous post-RIA EB-5 experience, especially in source of funds and I-829.
- Counsel should represent only the investor; if the regional center pays the fee or the attorney also serves the project, obtain written conflict disclosure.
- Fix the fee structure in a written engagement letter and clarify whether RFEs, NOIDs, and each stage are included.
- Guaranteed approval, undisclosed relationships, and a casual approach to source of funds are reasons to end the relationship.
- Investors must provide accurate information and keep complete records, managing the case with counsel from I-526E through I-829.