EB-5 Practice

We are experienced in public/private ventures, portfolio fund investments, preferred equity investment structures, multi-tiered entity structures, staged funding ventures for development, and strategic alliances.

Our EB-5 team is led by Wilka Toppins, a nationally recognized EB-5 corporate lawyer with more than 30 years of experience representing domestic and global companies and individuals in matters ranging from general corporate, mergers and acquisitions, structuring, employment and corporate and employment immigration matters. Wilka has been working with EB-5 Regional Centers and investors since 2009 and has represented both Regional Centers and hundreds of EB-5 investors.  She also has helped design an E-2/direct EB-5 immigration program for a U.S. company. 

Alongside an experienced team of immigration and corporate and securities lawyers, our EB-5 Team also includes a former General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as well as a former Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and former General Counsel of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

We are your full-service law firm for navigating the EB-5 program, providing strategic, responsive and value-driven guidance to both companies and investors each step of the way. 

For Investors

• Preparation and filing of I-526 EB-5 Petition
• Preparation and filing of applications for immigrant visa processing or adjustment of status 
• Preparation and filing of I-829 condition removal petitions
• Analysis and qualification of EB-5 investor and source of funds
• Due diligence on chosen investment project for immigration compliance
• Corporate structuring for Direct EB-5 entrepreneurial projects
• Advise on Regional Centers sponsorship and/or affiliation agreements for “pooled” Direct EB-5 projects
• EB-5 Litigation (Mandamus and Denials)

For EB-5 Regional Centers

• USCIS EB-5 and SEC-compliant private offering documents, including special purpose entities
• Preparing and filing of exemplar petitions
• Project-specific I-526 templates
• I-924A filings 
• I-828 filings and templates
• EB-5 Litigation
• Due diligence screening of investors 
• Reviewing I-526 source of funds prepared by investor’s attorney
• Responding to project-related RFEs on I-526 petitions, NOIDs and NOITs Regional Centers
• Applications to amend regional center designations
• Ongoing representations of designated regional centers

For NCE/JCEs

• Entity structuring and private funds
• Financing, loan structuring and asset based lending
• Hospitality development and management
• Developments, acquisitions, dispositions, and financings of large-scale, mixed-used developments and stand-alone multi-family apartment and residential communities 
• Real estate development and management 
• Transactional construction advice to the real estate, development, investment, engineering and infrastructure sectors, 
• Structure, negotiate and draft construction contracts, design-build agreements and economic incentive agreements. 
• Management of complex construction projects.

SEC/DHS Compliance/Oversight

• Compliance with funds expenditure, revenue and job creation aspects of day-to-day operations for EB-5 projects.
• Advise on SEC regulations and registration requirements.
• Advise and representation on USCIS/SEC audits and regulatory oversight
• Implement responses to audit observations
• Development of EB-5 promoter/brokers and private issuer’s compliance policies, advice on registration issues and drafting of promoter contracts
• Development of in-house annual compliance programs

Womble Bond Dickinson Value Proposition

• Full-service firm with single point of contact who brings together all the right resources for your project.
• Sophisticated legal services at reasonable, value-driven rates.
• Dedicated, fully integrated team that is responsive, efficient and aligned with your goals.
• Deeply experienced in EB-5 matters and all related service areas.