EB5 Investors Magazine Volume 2 Issue 1 | Page 13

ferred to the new commercial enterprise in the United States upon the investor obtaining conditional lawful permanent resident status .” Dealing with an escrow account set up in his or her home country may be more appealing to some EB-5 investors . However , if EB-5 funds are held in escrow inside the United States , fewer issues may arise with regards to validating currency fluctuations and foreign capital export restrictions .
The new normal
Investors should understand that a more dynamic escrow arrangement is the new normal for regional center projects . Just as the recent USCIS EB-5 Policy Memorandum acknowledged that “ business strategies constantly evolve , with new opportunities identified and existing plans improved ,” the escrow agreement has also evolved to help regional center projects survive drawn-out I-526 petition processing times , and keep up with the real world business environment . Again , these business strategies are evolving not merely out of a regional center ’ s desire to access capital , but due to the backlog of more than 7,000 I-526 petitions , and the increasingly lengthy delays of processing times . These types of escrow arrangements should not necessarily keep investors from exploring EB-5 opportunities , but instead should serve as a reminder to thoroughly analyze and understand escrow terms , in order to choose conditions that the investor is most comfortable with when making an EB-5 investment .

Christian Triantaphyllis
Catharine Yen
Christian Triantaphyllis is an attorney at Foster- Quan , LLP , one of the nation ’ s largest immigration law firms . Christian concentrates his practice on business immigration matters , including representing clients on EB-5 filings pertaining to direct investments , investments through regional centers , and applications for EB-5 regional center designation . He has presented at national EB-5 conferences around the country and served as a Leadership Member of the American Bar Association ’ s Immigration Litigation Committee .
Catharine Yen is an attorney at FosterQuan , LLP , one of the nation ’ s largest immigration law firms . Catharine is a graduate of Rice University and the University of Houston Law Center . She is involved in every aspect of the EB-5 process and has filed hundreds of I-526 petitions . Catharine has also presented and spoken at national EB-5 conferences around the country . She is conversant in Chinese . www . EB5Investors . com 11