EB-5 Regional Center Compliance
Regional centers and project developers carry the EB-5 program's heaviest compliance load: USCIS designation, securities law, job-creation accounting, and annual reporting under the 2022 reforms. We represent the sponsor side, from designation through audit, so a project holds up for the investors who funded it.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
4
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
EB-5 regional center compliance attorneys for Bellevue and Seattle developers
Oseran Hahn represents the sponsor side of EB-5: regional centers, project developers, and the new commercial enterprises that raise foreign capital. We handle USCIS regional-center designation, the project (exemplar) filings that approve a deal for investors, the securities-law compliance every EB-5 raise triggers, and the job-creation accounting and annual reporting the 2022 Reform and Integrity Act now requires. This is distinct from the investor-side EB-5 petition; here the client is the business raising the money, and the goal is a project that survives USCIS review and protects the investors who funded it.
EB-5 sponsorship is a securities offering wrapped in an immigration program, and a project has to satisfy both bodies of law at once. We obtain or maintain the regional-center designation; we file the project exemplar that lets investors rely on an approved deal; we structure the offering to comply with federal securities law; we build the job-creation model and the documentation that supports it; and we keep the center current with the annual reporting and integrity-fund obligations the 2022 reforms added.
Regional-center designation and maintenance
A regional center is a USCIS-designated entity authorized to sponsor pooled EB-5 investments and to count indirect and induced jobs through economic modeling. Designation is obtained on Form I-956, and the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 reauthorized the program and reset the rules, requiring existing centers to re-comply and new ones to meet stricter standards. We prepare the designation application, draft the policies and oversight procedures the Act requires, and keep the center in good standing as the rules evolve.
The project (exemplar) filing
Before investors commit, a regional center files a project application, Form I-956F, covering the specific new commercial enterprise and job-creating entity. An approved project lets individual investors rely on the deal's structure and business plan rather than re-litigating it in every petition. We assemble the I-956F with the business plan, the economic job-creation report, and the offering documents, and we coordinate it with the investors' own I-526E filings so the project and the petitions tell one consistent story.
Securities-law compliance
Every EB-5 raise is a securities offering. The interests sold to foreign investors are securities under federal law, so the offering must either register or, far more commonly, fit an exemption such as Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, with Regulation S often used for offshore sales. The private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and partnership or operating agreement have to satisfy securities law and align with the immigration filings. We draft and review the offering documents, address broker-dealer and promoter issues, and keep the securities and immigration sides consistent, because a conflict between them sinks both.
Job creation and the economic model
EB-5 lives or dies on jobs: each investor must create at least ten full-time positions. Regional centers count direct, indirect, and induced jobs using accepted economic methodologies, and the job-creation model has to be credible, properly documented, and tied to real expenditures and revenue. We work with economists to build a defensible model, structure the deal so the jobs actually materialize, and document them in the form USCIS will accept at the investors' I-829 stage.
Annual reporting, audits, and integrity rules
The Reform and Integrity Act added a continuous compliance burden. Regional centers file an annual statement on Form I-956G, pay into the EB-5 Integrity Fund, are subject to USCIS site visits and audits, and must meet new fund-administration and disclosure standards designed to protect investors. We keep clients current on the annual filings, prepare them for audits and site visits, and respond when USCIS raises a question, so a compliance lapse does not jeopardize the investors' petitions.
More than forty years representing businesses and investors across the Pacific Northwest, on both sides of the EB-5 transaction. We understand the project and the petition, which is what a sponsor needs when the two have to agree.
Both sides of EB-5 under one roof.
We represent investors and sponsors, so we know how a project reads from the petition side. That perspective helps us build a deal that holds up when each investor's case reaches USCIS.
Securities and immigration together.
An EB-5 raise has to satisfy securities law and immigration law at once. We coordinate the offering documents and the USCIS filings so they tell one story, instead of leaving a sponsor to reconcile two sets of advisors.
Built for the documentation.
Designation, exemplar, and annual reporting are won on a complete, careful record. We build it in the form USCIS expects, which is what keeps a center in good standing and a project approvable.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
What is the difference between this and an investor EB-5 case?
The client. Investor-side EB-5 represents the individual and family seeking a green card. Regional-center compliance represents the sponsor: the center, the developer, and the enterprise raising the capital. The two have to fit together, but the filings, the duties, and the risks are different. We handle both, separately.
Do we need to register the offering with the SEC?
Usually not, but you must comply with securities law. Most EB-5 raises rely on an exemption, commonly Regulation D, with Regulation S for offshore investors, rather than full registration. The offering still needs a proper private placement memorandum and subscription documents, and it must avoid unregistered broker-dealer activity. We structure the raise to fit an exemption correctly.
What did the 2022 Reform and Integrity Act change for sponsors?
A great deal. It reauthorized the regional-center program, set new investment thresholds, created set-aside categories, and added an Integrity Fund fee, annual Form I-956G reporting, audits, site visits, and fund-administration requirements. Existing centers had to re-comply. We help sponsors meet the current standard rather than the pre-2022 one.
Can you prepare the economic job-creation report?
We coordinate it. The job-creation model is built by an economist using accepted methodologies, but it has to be tied to the business plan, the expenditures, and the immigration filings. We work with the economist, make sure the model supports the deal, and document the jobs so they hold up at the investors' I-829 stage.
What happens if USCIS audits the center?
We prepare for it and respond. The Reform and Integrity Act subjects regional centers to audits and site visits. We keep the compliance record current so an audit is manageable, prepare the team for a site visit, and respond to USCIS findings promptly, because a problem at the center level can affect every investor's petition.
Recentarticles.
Tell us about the project and where it stands, whether you are seeking designation or preparing a new raise. A foreign investment attorney will follow up within one business day, and the first conversation is confidential.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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