EB5 Investors Magazine | Page 66

[ IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS ] For over 30 years Robert Gaffney has been helping individual and corporate clients make the United States their home through family, investment and employment-based immigration. Robert has represented clients immigrating under the EB-5 program since the statute was enacted in the early 1990s. He now runs the Law Offices of Robert P. Gaffney in San Francisco. Robert attended the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies as a foreign-language fellow in the mid-1970s and he is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. He is a California State Bar Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law, distinguishing him as among the most experienced and knowledgeable immigration attorneys in California. His ability to apply an uncommon breadth of knowledge and experience across a broad range of immigration law issues makes Robert an invaluable asset in immigration cases, and an effective bridge for EB-5 investors looking to establish a new life in the United States. The attorneys of Law Offices of Robert P. Gaffney are supported by highly skilled, multi-faceted teams of assistants with native fluency in multiple dialects of the Chinese and other East Asian languages, and an advanced understanding of the legal, social, and cultural context of East Asian countries affecting clients’ businesses and families. The firm specializes in providing in dependent counsel to immigrant Robert Gaffney investor clients at all stages of the immigration process and has special expertise counseling EB-5 clients from transitional economies on complex source of funds issues. Robert is a long-time member of the Association of Asian Studies, and a member of the San Francisco-Shanghai Sister City Committee. He frequently contributes to legal publications and regularly speaks on EB-5 and other immigration-law topics to business and professional groups. He has earned an AV rating, the highest rating for an attorney’s integrity and skill given by Martindale-Hubbell, a trusted peer-reviewed authority for legal professionals in the United States. Robert enjoys travelling abroad and enjoying the Bay Area’s wealth of cultural and outdoor activities. Enrique Gonzalez has been involved with the EB-5 program for the entirety of his career—and nearly for the entirety of the program itself. His first serious encounter with EB-5 was in 1994, when he counseled Canadian clients on direct investment cases. Along with the rest of the industry, Enrique’s EB-5 practice experienced explosive growth around 10 years ago. Today, he is the managing partner of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP’s Florida office, where he leads a dedicated EB-5 team. Enrique Gonzalez Enrique has spent 19 years of his career practicing immigration law at Fragomen, with the exception of nine months in 2013 where he worked in the U.S. Senate. At Fragomen, he works with six other immigration professionals to counsel both individual investors and regional centers. Enrique estimates that Latin American investors currently make up about 90 percent of his casework. of the EB-5 program, but is also heavily influenced by his work on immigration legislation. In 2013, Enrique served as Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) senior advisor on immigration matters. He was the principal negotiator for the Republican Gang of Eight as S. 744 advanced through the Senate. Enrique wishes that every immigration attorney could have the chance to experience that side of the legal system. In the Florida office, Enrique’s team is committed to never accepting finders’ fees and will never represent investors in the same projects that they are also representing. This commitment, coupled with technical knowledge and experience, has contributed to the team’s 100 percent success rate, to date. This reputation has allowed Enrique to grow his business primarily through referrals and to build niches in certain international markets. Enrique’s perspective not only encompasses the lifespan 64 Enrique believes in the EB-5 program’s power to drive the economic engine of our country and keep the United States competitive. He is a frequent speaker on immigration issues, and EB-5 specifically, and his immigration reform work has been cited in publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times and The Washington Post. EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE