The Role Migration Agents Play
in Redeployment
What are the fiduciary duties and unregistered broker-dealer considerations when it
comes to redeployment to maintain the investment “at risk” for EB-5 investors.
By Osvaldo F. Torres and R. William Cornelius
T
he growing visa bac k log for c e r tain c ountries ,
especially those investors from Mainland China,
has forced EB-5 investors, regional centers and new
commercial enterprises (NCE) to reassess their expected
“exit” from EB-5 projects. The requirement that investor
funds need to be redeployed to maintain the investment
“at risk” for those EB-5 investors that have yet to obtain
conditional permanent residency has changed the EB-5
program’s landscape in ways that were not contemplated
at the inception of the program.
Redeployment considerations have become almost as
critical a component of an EB-5 offering as the original
project and require careful analysis by the parties tasked
with structuring redeployment strategies. While such
parties almost certainly include, as applicable, the NCE’s
general partner or manager (GP), it may also include
foreign migration agents. A foreign migration agent’s exact
role in the redeployment process is a source of contention
and likely varies by project but is a key discussion point.
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