abcd1234

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a solid lawyer with a good track record getting EB-5 petitions prepared and approved in a fairly timely manner. Please let me know of any lawyers you recommend, and also the range of fees you have been charged? I've seen a few figures here and there but they seem way too high... how much work (in terms of hours) roughly do you think an attorney would have to put into this? Doesn't seem like much to me since the onus is mostly on the investor to gather and feed the docs to the lawyer.

In fact, is a lawyer even necessary or can I work on the petitions by myself?

Many thanks.

ian-mstm

I don't have any specific recommendation for a lawyer. A lawyer is never necessary - and you can do the petitions yourself... but, if you proceed without one, you really need to weigh your risk tolerance for failure. Further, considering the amount of money you're about to invest, why do you think the lawyers fees are "way too high"? Indeed, how can you pre-assess that the fees are too high and then ask about how many hours a lawyer should invest. The lawyer's fee is part of the cost of doing business... and your focus should be on getting the visa.

Ian

abcd1234

Thanks. Point taken. The numbers I've seen are between 10k and 20k. What I want to know is whether the lawyer really will put in work worth that much, or whether they're taking advantage of the fact that you're putting down so much money that they're overcharging. Additionally, some of the regional centers refer investors to a specific set of lawyers. I wonder if you they get kickbacks from the lawyers and that may be one reason why the fees are so high.

I guess it's like saying just because you might purchase a $200,000 car doesn't mean you should be OK with paying the gas station $6 a gallon instead of $3. Everything should be judged on its merits. Again, what I really want to know is whether the amount of work the lawyer will put into this will warrant this much money or not?

scrubbedexpat099

Perhaps a better analogy would be that if you buy a $200,000 car you are going to pay a lot more for routine servicing and parts.

abcd1234

Fine, use whichever analogy you'd like.

What I really would appreciate help with is a) who's good and b) how much is reasonable to pay them.

scrubbedexpat099

From what I have read here 10k seems to be going rate, presumably there is an extra when you remove conditions.

I would see what the various schemes pet lawyers charge to get a feel.

I presume you are going for one of the schemes, or are you going your own way. If the later my guess is that the cost may go up a bit. Plenty of lawyers who want to do this sort of work.

John_K.

Paid USD 10.000 for dealing with immigration matters (not other matters regarding investment) up to and including getting the conditional green card. Started in January 2010 with the process and will have interview at embassy in 4 weeks from now. Originally he offered 20.000 but when I said that I will be able to deliver all documentation in high quality he agreed with 10.000.

I expect to pay a much smaller fee when the conditions need to be removed in two years.

im9907620

From my experience with a few of the US EB5 lawyers the general figure has tended to be around $10,000 - $12,000 (depending on size of firm). There is also a couple of UK lawyers who do it too, depending on where you prefer. Generally, this covers the immigration process but not any financial and or investment due diligence regarding the actual EB5 center, though clearly this part should have been done first by any investor.