TOP LITIGATION AT TORNEYS
IRA KURZBAN
KURZBAN, KURZBAN, TETZELI & PRATT, P.A.
Ira Kur zban is the chair of
the immigration department
of the law firm of Kurzban,
Kurzban, Tetzeli & Pratt, P.A.,
based in Miami, Florida. He is
a former national president
and former general counsel of the American Immigration
Lawyers Association. He has litigated over 50 federal cases
concerning the rights of aliens. Kurzban has extensive
litigation experience in investor cases and has been a
special counsel to a number of regional centers. Kurzban
authors and lectures extensively in the field of immigration
law. He holds a Juris Doctor and a master’s from the
University of California, Berkeley, and is an adjunct faculty
member in immigration and nationality law at the University
of Miami.
WHAT NEW TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING
WHEN IT COMES TO EB-5 LITIGATION?
ANY IMPACT FROM THE NEW
REGULATIONS?
We begin to see a substantial increase in EB-5 litigation in all
areas. There are challenges to the regulations; to the
counting of derivatives; to the way that USCIS has chosen to
define the term “cash” for purposes of an investment. There
are also challenges by investors who have understandably
grown restless by the long backlogs in adjudications and
therefore we see far more mandamus petitions than
previously. There are also understandably disgruntled
investors who have been defrauded and are taking action
along with the SEC to go after people who have committed a
variety of fraud and malpractice in the EB-5 areas
WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR MOST
IMPACTFUL LITIGATION CASES,
AND WHY?
We won and recently argued in the Court of Appeals in
Washington D.C., Zhang v. USCIS 344 F.Supp.3d 32 (D.D.C.
2018) and Siqing Wang v. USCIS, 366 F.Supp.3d 118 (D.D.C.
2019). We have been successful in scores of mandamus
cases that have resulted in USCIS adjudicating and
eventually favorably resolving cases on clients’ behalf. We
also reversed the termination of a regional center and saved
hundreds of investor petitions. Our firm also generally
litigates against USCIS, ICE, CBP and DHS in many areas of
immigration law. Just recently we won a major victory
involving a fraudulent university that was established to
entrap foreign students and their advisors.
JOHN P. PRATT
KURZBAN, KURZBAN, TETZELI & PRATT, PA
John P. Pratt is a partner at
Kurzban, Kurzban, Tetzeli &
Prat t, PA . He concentrates
in all areas of immigration
and nationality law, including
complex EB-5 federal cour t
litigation. He was admitted to practice in the state of Florida,
the state of New York, the District of Columbia, several district
courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for several circuits, and the
U.S. Supreme Court. He serves in the board of governors of
AILA and is the former president and director in the board of
directors of AILA’s San Francisco chapter. Pratt has received
AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell. He holds a bachelor’s degree
from Florida State University and a Juris Doctor from Tulane
Law School.
WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING WHEN
IT COMES TO EB-5 LITIGATION?
ANY IMPACT FROM THE NEW
REGULATIONS?
As previously predicted, there is an increase in litigation by
regional centers, projects, and/or investors based on shifting
and undefined USCIS policies, inconsistent adjudications, and
arbitrary and incorrect legal and factual denials. In addition,
70
EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE
there is a continued increase in litigation by investors against
projects due to bad acts, redeployment and management
decisions, and other civil commercial actions. I believe that there
will be a big increase in representing investors in USCIS I-829
denied petitions in removal proceedings. Mandamus litigation
continues to be critical to avoid undue delays in I-526 and I-829
adjudications, and I believe that inconsistent adjudications
based on the new regulations will lead to future litigation.
WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR MOST
IMPACTFUL LITIGATION CASES,
AND WHY?
I still believe that the most impactful case Ira Kurzban, the firm,
and I litigated is Chang v. U.S., 327 F.3d 911 (9th Cir. 2003),
which continues to be the only federal court circuit decision in
EB-5 arena. As previously stated, EB-5 involves complex
corporate, securities, immigration and job economic
methodologies issues that are challenging. We have been
fortunate to work in numerous federal court actions in EB-5,
and rely on a great team at the firm. Some of the most
important cases currently include one that challenges USCIS
policy on “debt arrangements,“ one that challenges the policy
of allocating EB-5 immigrant visa numbers and one challenging
the interpretation of The Child Status Protection Act in the EB-5
context.