Recently the USCIS removed contact information (telephone numbers, email address, web site URL, etc.) from its list of regional centers. The USCIS isn’t saying why it removed the information, but it may be possible to infer the Service’s motivation from some new text that now appears at the head of the list:

USCIS approval of an EB-5 Regional Center application does not in any way:

• Constitute USCIS endorsement of the activities of that Regional Center;
• Guarantee compliance with U.S. securities laws; or
• Minimize or eliminate risk to the investor.

Potential investors are encouraged to seek professional advice when making any investment decisions.

It may be that the USCIS, after listening to complaints that immigrant investors were misled in 2011 by two startup regional centers, is trying to move potential investors away from simply contacting the centers and listening only to their sales pitches, and towards seeking less biased providers of information. A little paternalism here may, in fact, be in order.

Note that the USCIS makes the very important points that USCIS designation does not indicate endorsement of a regional center, and that risk is an unavoidable aspect of any EB-5 investment. I noted in my previous posting on this blog that a USCIS designation does not mean that any given project offered by a center will be approved in all its characteristics when the investors I-526 and I-829 petitions are being reviewed. An element of risk is simply required by the statute that governs the U.S. immigrant investor program.

It’s interesting that the USCIS mentions securities law compliance in so prominent a place on its regional center page. The fact that there is an entirely separate and very strict body of law with which regional centers must comply in addition to immigration law, and which they sometimes ignore, at great peril to themselves and their investors, is a drum I’ve been banging on this page for many months. My clients are often surprised when I inform them that one of the biggest and most popular regional centers has a very bad record of complying with U.S. securities law, and that when I asked the president of this regional center about it, he stated that he doesn’t consult with a securities attorney, regards it as a waste of money, and won’t change his practices until the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission “comes knocking on my door.” Let’s hope he comes to his senses before then. Fortunately, despite a few stragglers, the trend among regional centers over the last several years is toward more careful compliance with U.S. securities laws.