TOP IMMIGRATION AT TORNEYS
ANGELO PAPARELLI
IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS
EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE
A
ngelo Paparelli is a certified
immigration law specialist
(California) and a Fellow in the
College of Labor and Employment
Lawyers (the only Fellow practicing
management-side
immigration-
related employment law) with experience in a wide array of sub-
specialties of U.S. immigration law, and a focus on investment-
based immigration (EB-5, EB-1C, E-2 and L-1) on behalf of
regional centers, project developers, and investors. He also
serves as an expert witness and consultant on immigration
issues arising in litigation, including EB-5, and as an advocate for
due-process reforms to America’s immigration laws.
HOW DO YOU THINK THE EB-5
PROGRAM SHOULD BE REFORMED?
These investors should not be required to invest additional
capital beyond their original qualifying investment. The EB-5 visa
category should be established as permanent, and not subject
to annual numerical limits of any kind. There is no good reason
to inhibit or restrict the EB-5’s job-creating engine of prosperity.
WHAT NEW TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING
IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
I see the current focus of existing projects on the redeployment
of capital investments where the removal of conditions on
residency has been delayed in ever-longer USCIS backlogs. I
also see a growing interest in the EB-5 program from investors
who hail from non-backlogged countries.
The EB-5 program should be reformed to allow innocent,
otherwise-qualifying investors who have been defrauded (and
their family members) to transition to another form of legal
status, with employment authorization and advance parole
travel authorization, leading ultimately to permanent residency.
NATALIA POLUKHTIN
IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS
EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE
N
atalia Polukhtin, attorney at
Global Practice (Scottsdale,
AZ), specializes in investment
immigrant and non-immigrant visa
categories. Native to Moscow,
Russia, she earned her graduate and undergraduate degrees
from Moscow State University before obtaining a law degree
from Mercer University School of Law.
Polukhtin developed unique expertise in documenting source of
funds originated from CIS countries and published several
articles on integration of non-traditional sources of funds, such
as cryptocurrency, into the EB-5 process. She is a blogger,
speaker, and an author of a comprehensive guide written in
Russian to business immigration to the U.S.
HOW DO YOU THINK THE EB-5
PROGRAM SHOULD BE REFORMED?
EB-5 program is long overdue for reform that provides
predictability and transparency to the investors. Immigrants
need to be able to invest their capital in American economy in
reliance on realistic estimates of adjudication time and prospects
38
EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE
of return of their capital. Thus, eliminating backlogs and
improving transparency in administration of regional centers
should be the primary focus of the upcoming reform. The EB-5
Reform and Integrity Act is a step in the right direction to assist
foreign investors in making life-changing decisions while
boosting the credibility of the existing legal mechanisms.
WHAT NEW TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING
IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
With the economic decline caused by the pandemic, the projects
that provide clear structure while serving as an asset-protection
mechanism are now in more demand than ever. Discouraged by
the lack of appropriate government response in their home
countries, many individuals currently consider immigration
options. The EB-5 industry has a unique opportunity to capitalize
on this search and revive interest of foreign investors in relocating
their capital to the U.S. As one of the recent trends, it is hard to
disregard growing interest in the EB-5 program from the
countries that traditionally have not been the most prominent
players in this market; CIS countries in particular.