Daria from Germany

I mean, the only other option we looked at was EB-2, but first of all, I think it’s heavily over-subscribed. So basically the timing and also the uncertainty around the EB-2 really put us off. And so we decided on EB-5 as the most reliable and ultimately also the fastest option for myself and my family. And obviously the benefit is, I mean, one of the main benefits of the EB-5 program for us was that it would cover my entire family. We have three children all under the age of 21, I’m married, and so they’re all covered by my application.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think we interviewed a handful of attorneys from smaller law firms to bigger law firms, and I think ultimately it’s a really personal decision and maybe a different practice were more important for me of being a lawyer myself. But in the end, we hired Anahita and her team from George and Marzialo, and they were actually the lawyers you had recommended to me during our first meeting. And I mean, it’s been an absolutely amazing experience for me because working with them would be all I could have asked for and even better because my approval came really quickly.

And what I liked about Anahita and her team was they are pretty straightforward down to earth approach, very pragmatic. And that really felt to me, obviously she has amazing track record. I think she’s been in the business for over a decade and a hundred percent approval rate and she was just, she is rather, super experienced and still also very understanding because I think she’s just worked with so many clients from different backgrounds. So she basically that… Not only could I tell that they knew what they were doing, I also felt, I just felt comfortable basically working with them.

So for me it was also appealing working with a boutique firm, I know different people have different preferences, priorities, but I ultimately wanted, I thought for me working with a small firm was better because I was more confident that they would dedicate the time to me. And this is really also, that was definitely also a big part of me.

Yeah, it was a very streamlined process. Everything is done via Dropbox and even though obviously there’s a time difference of six hours, I couldn’t tell really because it felt they were super responsive. They were available; it almost felt like 24 hours a day. So basically the time difference, I mean I couldn’t notice it. And they were super, as I said, super responsive and they really knew exactly what was needed and what I needed to get done. They understood what I was getting at and what kind of…

I mean obviously the most important thing I guess is the source of funds, trying to document that properly. And that was very easily communicated when I talked to them. And also it was very easy basically to document because they understood what I was doing and where I was coming from. For us, I think it actually didn’t take too long. I think it was three and a half weeks. It was pretty quick I guess. But I actually think that the most, the thing that took longest was getting all the translations done, I guess because we had to get translations of all the tax documents for the last five years and our partnership documents. So I think getting your translations done took some time, but all in all, it was only, I think three and a half weeks.

Yeah, obviously you have to follow your, I think it’s a gut decision. In the end, you have to feel comfortable with who you work with because this is one of the most life-changing decisions you ever take, I guess. So I mean the chemistry has to be right, you have to feel comfortable, even though in the whole overall timeframe it might not feel like such a long term relationship, but it’s a very intense process. So you end up spending quite a lot of time with your lawyer and you have to just feel comfortable with who you work with. So I think obviously you need to choose somebody who is knowledgeable or who you trust. So that’s really what matters. And ultimately I think it’s important that the person knows what he or she’s doing and it’s not only theoretical knowledge but practical experience. And for me that was really the overriding factor in the end.

EB5AN was actually one of the first regional centers I contacted. And afterwards, I think I spoke to maybe three or four more. But what really stood out was, first of all, I mean you are one of the founders and I contacted you and you almost immediately responded, it was very easy to get on a call with you and that wasn’t the situation with the other regional centers. So even though I spoke to very knowledgeable, friendly, and experienced people, I never spoke to any of the principals or founders in any of the other regional centers. So I thought that was already a big difference. EB5AN seems very transparent in that perspective and also obviously super responsive, very professional in your approach and the communication. I don’t think it ever took longer than three to four hours before I got a response from you. So that was amazing. That really appealed to me.

I think the combination of EB5AN and Kolter was very attractive to me because of the impeccable track record and the longstanding relationship you have with Kolter. So I was definitely interested in investing in one of your Kolter projects. And in terms of rural, and I mean not from… I don’t know whether it probably matters more for investors coming from countries where there’s a backlog, but I was definitely, I was originally already hoping not to have to wait too long before my approval and obviously what’s happened now as well, but fast processing was definitely a factor for me as well.

Yeah, the senior living community business model was definitely also very attractive to me because it’s obviously a proven and very successful business model in the US and I think that the Twin Lake project offers more flexibility in terms of building as you go along and maybe slowing down as well if there is a slowdown in the economy. So I was basically interested in investing in this single-family housing community.

I think that, I mean, they’ve been in the business for over 25 years. I knew that and they’ve never actually failed to repay any of their loans and I thought it was very impressive. And what really appealed to me was this loan repayment guarantee. Obviously there still has to be some risk involved in investing in an EB-5 investment, but I think this repayment guarantee really mitigates or minimizes the risk as much as that is at all possible. So that was definitely a huge factor for me as well.

I don’t think anything could have been better. It was super smooth and again, it just showed that even though obviously you are separate, you all have long-term, long-standing relationships and my attorneys, my team actually were in touch with you guys during the wiring process so it was all very swift and smooth and no questions left unanswered. So that was, yeah, it happened really fast in the end, I think I started working on my documents in July and I think it was the end of July that I was invested.

I think that they received my application the 1st of August and I received the approval on April 2nd. So it was exactly eight months and a day. That was even much quicker than I would’ve hoped for. It was very quick and I’m super pleased with the outcome.

Yeah, sorry, one thing I forgot to mention about the Twin Lakes project. Obviously for me, especially coming from a country where there’s no backlog, for me, I mean the job creation factor was important that everything, all the approvals, all the jobs have been created, all the approvals are there. And for me, one of the particular attractions of this Twin Lakes project was that my funds were actually deployed fairly soon after I signed up because especially since the approval has now come so quickly.

Put in very simple terms, don’t wait too long really, because, I mean, obviously you never know what’s going to happen in the future, but I think it’s an amazing opportunity. And if you think in your market, give it a try.

Absolutely. Absolutely. I would obviously recommend both of you wholeheartedly because it’s worked out perfectly for me. Definitely recommend you guys. Yeah, it’s been a pleasure working with you and also with my attorneys and I’m very grateful to you all. So definitely I would recommend you highly.