TOP IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS
programs, including the U.S. EB-5 investor
visa, he regularly liaises with Asian private
clients to address their global entrepreneurial
or investor citizenship or residency
immigration needs. He also advises human
resource personnel, legal department,
managers, executives and professionals
and multinational corporations on a variety
of global immigration matters with an
emphasis on the establishment and
improvement of immigration compliant
global mobility programs including
jurisdic tions wi th less for malize d
immigration processes and procedures.
CHAD R. ELLSWORTH
Partner
Fragomen Worldwide
C
had R. Ellsworth is a partner at Fragomen
Worldwide and has been with the firm for
15 years. His practice focuses on representing
individual and business clients on a wide variety of
corporate immigration, private client and related
employment matters. Ellsworth advises many
high net worth individuals in their immigration
related investments. As investors from Asia are
the largest users of global investor migration
WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN
THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
Immigrant visa retrogression has had a
chilling effect on the Chinese EB-5 market
and may eventually have a similar impact
on the Vietnamese market given the
popularity of the program. As such, many
regional centers are now diversifying their
investor markets. I have seen a significant
increase in EB-5 usage from non-traditional
markets such as India and Africa. Given the
global trend towards restrictive immigration
policies, including popular destinations
such as Australia and the United Kingdom,
of investor petitions. She has devoted her
entire practice to EB-5 because she is truly
passionate about it, allowing her to build
a thorough understanding of the process.
With a degree in finance and a background
handling entrepreneurial cases for clients
seeking E-2 or L-1 visas, Hermansky is
intimately familiar with the business
immigration process and applies this
knowledge to her EB-5 cases. Leveraging
her knowledge base, she helps investors
from the moment they decide to file until
they become U.S. citizens, and counseling
regional centers on issues of management,
staffing and compliance.
JENNIFER
HERMANSK Y
Shareholder
Greenberg Traurig LLP
J
ennifer Hermansky is a shareholder at the
Philadelphia office of Greenberg Traurig
LLP and is part of the firm’s EB-5 team. She
first began working on EB-5 investor cases in
2009 and then added regional center matters
to her repertoire. Hermansky has since then
been involved in more than 100 regional
center projects and has handled thousands
the EB-5 program is an increasingly
attractive option for entrepreneurs and
investors from non-traditional markets
such as India and Africa.
WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN
THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
Fragomen has been one of the leaders
in the EB-5 industry since the program’s
inception in the 1990 ’s. My direc t
interest in the program occurred through
representing global financial services
institutions who frequently have private
clie nts in ne e d of e ntre pre ne urial
or investor citizenship or residency
solutions, including EB-5. I frequently
work with entrepreneurs, investors
and their advisors to understand the
client's particular circumstances and
what they aim to achieve to advise on
the solutions most relevant to them.
EB-5 is frequently the top choice for
entrepreneurs and investors given the
dynamism of the U.S. economy and the
other significant opportunities afforded
by U.S. permanent residency.
WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN
THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
USCIS is becoming more stringent on
their cases under the new administration.
They are very carefully reviewing the
I -526 petitions for source of funds
of the investors. It is very important
for stakeholders to keep abreast of
these trends and make sure investors
are working with qualified attorneys.
Beyond adjudications, we are seeing
the development of new and emerging
m a r ke t s f o r E B - 5 i n v e s t o r s g r o w
significantly, especially in countries like
Vietnam, India, South Korea, UAE, Brazil
and Venezuela.
WHAT DO YOU THINK
THE FUTURE OF THE EB-5
INDUSTRY LOOKS LIKE?
I believe this year will be a game-changer
for the EB-5 program. It is likely we will
see an increased investment amount for
the first time in the program’s history. I
also think we will see changes to how TEA
determinations are made and by which
agencies. It also is likely that we will finally
see some much needed and anticipated
integrity measures put into place.
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