TOP LITIGATION AT TORNEYS
IRA KURZBAN
KURZBAN, KURZBAN, TETZELI & PRATT P.A. | PARTNER
Ira Kurzban was retained by
one of the first EB-5 regional
centers to represent individual
investors and has since spent
the last 20 years involved in
the program. Today, Kurzban,
Kurzban, Tetzeli & Pratt P.A. is a go-to immigration litigation
firm. Kurzban has been a partner in the firm’s Miami office
for over three decades and is the chair of the immigration
department. Kurzban and his team handle more than 90
percent of all federal litigation cases for the EB-5 Immigrant
Investor Visa program. Kurzban has been listed for over 35
years in the Best Lawyers in America.
WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING
WHEN IT COMES TO EB-5 LITIGATION?
Today and in the near future, there will undoubtedly be more
litigation by investors dissatisfied with USCIS policies as
well as the actions of bad actors in a limited number of
regional centers and new commercial enterprises. We are
seeing the rise of SEC involvement in the field; the challenges
brought about by delays in adjudications; the age-out
process of children due to the method of counting derivatives
in the EB-5 category; and the unreasonable interpretations
of “at-risk,” “redemption agreements,” “ job creation” and
“investment.” All of these challenges will lead to further
litigation in the near term.
WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED
IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY AND
WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE?
EB-5 has been an exciting intellectual and strategic
challenge because it is an emerging and constantly changing
area of immigration law. For example, we recently filed a
lawsuit to challenge the way in which spouses and children
are counted for visa purposes in the EB-5 category. No one
previously challenged the concept that derivative family
members in the EB-5 context must be issued separate visas
when counting their investor spouse. Congress mandated
that 10,000 visas should be issued to investors, yet the
majority of visas go to spouses and children. Our lawsuit
may dramatically effect visa allocation in the future.
JOHN P. PRATT
KURZBAN, KURZBAN, TETZELI & PRATT P.A. | PARTNER
John P. Pratt is a partner at
Kurzban, Kurzban, Tetzeli & Pratt
P.A. He has a bachelor’s degree
from Florida State University
and a juris doctor from Tulane
University. He has admitted
to bar in Florida, New York and Washington, D.C., as well as
various federal district and appellate courts. He serves on the
board of governors for the American Immigration Lawyers
Association, is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is certified
by the Florida Bar in immigration and nationality law. He
concentrates in all areas of immigration and nationality law,
including complex EB-5 federal court litigation.
WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING
WHEN IT COMES TO EB-5 LITIGATION?
There will be an increase in litigation by regional centers, projects
and/or investors based on shifting and undefined USCIS policies,
inconsistent adjudications, and I-526/I-829 USCIS arbitrary and
incorrect legal and factual denials. In addition, there will be an
increase in litigation by investors against projects due to bad
acts, redeployment/management decisions, and other civil
commercial actions. There will be a coordinated effort between
civil commercial litigators and immigration law litigators to
protect investor's interests and overcome or prevent adverse
USCIS EB-5 adjudications. Additionally, there is a trend of
increased litigation representing investors in USCIS I-829 denied
petitions in removal proceedings.
WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED
IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY AND
WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE?
I started my involvement because I was litigating complex
immigration cases in federal courts. Also, when I started my
career with Ira Kurzban, we were litigating complex EB-5 cases,
which eventually lead to the only federal court circuit decision
in EB-5, Chang v. U.S., 327 F.3d 911. EB-5 involves complex
corporate, securities, immigration and job economic
methodologies issues that are challenging. In addition, federal
court litigation is very rewarding because it can achieve
amazing results, such as overcoming denials, and is the best
mechanism to restrict USCIS from arbitrary adjudications that
do not conform to facts, the statute or regulations.
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