There is no way for you to gather the information you need if you don’t know what questions to ask.  Being new to the prospect of immigration and EB-5 investment, there is almost no way for you to know what those questions might be, unless you put the advantage of professional advising on your side.

Part of the job of that advisor is to spot potential problems and red flags.  There is really no telling what form those red flags might take, and this is in a way the “catch all” that is left when all other issues have been attended to.   That may sound as if we are being intentionally vague, but we are not; we are simply pointing out to you that there are certain things that will raise the awareness of a good advisor, and that will require further investigation.  These are issues that will be unique to the regional centers and projects that you are considering.  To the trained eye, these issues will be spotted quickly and will be very telling of the project and center’s operations, while to the untrained eye they would be easily glossed over by sales spiel and largely ignored until it is too late.

Realistically the potential problems and red flags that an impartial third party will find and address, and the ability to recognize those issues or lacking elements will come as a direct result of experience.  Being able to spot red flags and address them in a proactive way is a skill that is developed as one works with several regional centers and their projects over time, as well as the process and regulations regarding EB-5 immigration.  It’s not something that can be learned by reading and research alone—this ability comes from direct, hands-on investigations and information saturation of the sort that only time and involvement can bring.

In many ways, this ability to address the ethereal red flags and potential problems is the most valuable service that an experienced impartial advisor can deliver to you.  Throughout the entire process of regional center evaluation and investment it is not the known and obvious that will cause you problems—it is the unknown, the unquestioned, and undisclosed; but as we’ve said many times, given the complexity of investing and immigrating through the EB-5 visa, there is hardly a way for a single investor, or even small group of potential immigrants, to know exactly what to look for, or what information to trust.

If an impartial advisor, Immigration Advisor, or Immigration Consultant does not have these concerns, you should think twice about why that is.  Is it possible the advisor is not as impartial as you originally were led to believe?  Is there a conflict of interest?  Or is the advisor simply not that good at his or her job? 

These are things you want to consider to ensure you are getting value from the partnership, and also to ensure that the advisor has first and foremost your concerns at heart.  To be even more clear, and hopefully preempt these troubles entirely, we’ll look at how to find a good Immigration Consultant or third party advisor after we address a couple more issues wherein your impartial third-party advisor will certainly prove his or her worth.

Next, POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS OF SOME REGIONAL CENTER PRACTICES AND POLICIES. In the meantime, if we can answer any of your questions please contact Stephen Parnell or Andrew Bartlett at Which EB5