EB5 Investors Magazine Volume 4 Issue 1 | Page 46

IMMIGR ATION AT TORNE YS TOP 25 Associates, Silver was employed with USCIS, formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service, where he was able to audit policy guidelines and assist in creating field guides that are still in use today. Over his career, Silver has enjoyed working within the different areas of immigration law with an emphasis in business and investment-related immigration. Silver has devoted the past 10 years of his practice to EB-5 law and is proud of the work that his firm has contributed to the EB-5 community. He has successfully filed over 3,000 I-526 and I-829 petitions. He enjoys tackling complicated and new fact patterns and always looks for the most effective way to garnish an approval for his clients. Silver developed his interest in EB-5 work during the late 1990s. At that time his practice served many small, and then larger Korean-owned businesses throughout Los Angeles. The eventual growth of these business lead to initial EB-5 filings. The EB-5 submissions grew over the years, and Silver was able to utilize his skills and experience into the Regional Center growth that would soon take over the EB-5 community. Darren Silver & Associates has earned numerous awards, including being chosen as the 2011 EB-5 Immigration Law Firm of the Year by the Artisan Business Group. The firm has represented several athletes, celebrities, small businesses, and large and multinational corporations. In addition to helping individual investors, Silver has assisted developers and projects review possible strategies for their organizations and business enterprises. Silver has been a long standing member of both AILA and IIUSA. Silver’s firm is fluent in Mandarin, German, Farsi and Spanish. Lincoln Stone has practiced EB-5 law for more than 25 years and his impressive track record includes successfully representing more than 3,000 EB-5 clients and obtaining removal of conditions for more than 1,000 investors. In fact, Stone has represented more than 10 percent of all the EB-5 investors ever to obtain removal of conditions in the EB-5 program, according to current USCIS statistics. Additionally, dozens of his U.S. business and regional center clients have raised more than $3 billion in EB-5 capital for some 100 different commercial enterprises. Stone has also made notable contributions to literature on EB-5. He is editor-in-chief of three editions of the essential practice book, Immigration Options for Investors & Entrepreneurs (AILA), chief editor of the Regional Center Business Journal (IIUSA), and author of more than 30 articles on EB-5 practice, policy, and interdisciplinary topics. He also served 10 years on the AILA EB-5 Investor Visa Committee, and for five of those years he served as chair. In this capacity, he was a leader in drafting legislative and regulatory proposals. Always active in the EB-5 community, from 2007 to 2012 Stone created and served as chair of four EB-5 conferences for ILW. He then organized and served as program chair for five editions of AILA National’s EB-5 Investor Visa Conference. Stone received two separate AILA President Commendations for leadership and advancing the EB-5 investor visa practice. Stone directs the investor and entrepreneur practice group at Stone Grzegorek & Gonzalez LLP, a full-service immigration law boutique of 22 lawyers. He also leads the active pro bono practice at the law firm, including a recent stint at the federal detention center in Artesia, New Mexico aiding Central American refugees. Stone previously served as chair of AILA’s National Pro Bono Committee, and received two separate AILA President Commendations for leadership of AILA’s pro bono efforts. Stone is listed in numerous peer and attorney ratings publications, including The Best Lawyers in America, as one of the country’s premier practitioners of immigration law. 44 EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE Darren Silver Darren Silver & Associates LLP Darren B. Silver is the founding Partner of Darren Silver & Associates, LLP. Mr. Silver has a career of over 20 years exclusively in the field of immigration. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Busines s Administration from the University of Southern California and J.D. from WSU School of Law. Prior to founding Darren Silver & Lincoln Stone Stone Grzegorek & Gonzalez LLP