“My Experience Working with the EB5AN Team”: Highlights of EB5AN’s Investor Interview Series

Choosing an EB-5 project is never just about a business plan and an economic report. It’s also about the people guiding you through the process. A trustworthy regional center should be transparent, responsive, and willing to answer hard questions in writing. Those are green flags. They usually mean the team has done the work up front, runs a disciplined process, and is focused on helping investors avoid preventable delays and surprises.

That kind of support matters because EB-5 is both an immigration process and a long-term investment. Investors need clear timelines, clean documentation, and steady communication. When a regional center is organized and available—especially when questions come up during due diligence or after filing—it becomes easier to stay informed, make decisions with confidence, and keep the case moving on a smooth track toward approval.

For investors weighing which regional center to trust, there’s huge value in learning directly from people who have already gone through the process. Successful EB-5 investors can share what they prioritized, what they asked before investing, and how they evaluated risk. Just as important, they can speak candidly about what it was like to work with the team behind the project day-to-day—because service quality is often what you only discover after you’ve committed.

That’s why EB5AN built an investor testimonial library with more than 20 full-length interviews. These conversations go beyond marketing claims. They capture real decision-making, real concerns, and real outcomes—so new investors can learn from practical experience, not guesswork. Very few EB-5 firms have invested this much time in documenting the investor perspective at this depth.

This post is the fourth installment in our series revisiting some of the most useful interviews in our library, each one focused on a key part of the EB-5 journey. Here, we focus on one topic only: these investors’ experience working with the EB5AN team—what stood out, what built trust, and what they believe made the process clearer and easier to manage.

In the excerpts ahead, investors describe EB5AN’s attention to detail, straightforward communication, and consistent availability when questions came up. Their feedback is practical, specific, and grounded in what they actually experienced. If you’re deciding who to work with for your EB-5 investment, their perspective can help you recognize what strong support looks like before you commit.

We also invite you to watch these highlights in the following compilation video featuring our investors’ key responses.

Watch All EB-5 Investor Testimonials

Direct Access to EB5AN’s Managing Partners and Excellent Communication

“A couple of things that I would note about EB5AN, your and Mike’s firm:, in most cases, with the regional centers, we did not actually speak with the principals, the owners, or the founders of the firms. We were talking to very knowledgeable senior people, like VPs of sales. Very knowledgeable people, but not with the actual principals themselves. So, having the opportunity to speak with you directly and easily; you returned calls quickly, emails quickly, I was really amazed. I really appreciated that.”—James from Canada

One of the first things several investors noticed was who they were actually speaking with. In many parts of the EB-5 market, investors start with sales teams. Those teams can be smart and experienced, but they are still one step removed from the people making decisions. James from Canada described how unusual it was to have direct, easy access to the principals. He could speak with Sam Silverman and Mike Schoenfeld, and he got quick replies by phone and email. That kind of access changes the whole dynamic. It signals accountability. It also means the person answering is close to the facts and can respond without “I’ll check and get back to you” on every meaningful question.

“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.” — Daria from Germany

Daria, an investor from Germany, echoed that same difference. She spoke with multiple regional centers, but EB5AN stood out because she could get on a call with a founder quickly, and responses came back in hours, not days. That responsiveness is key for a successful EB-5 investment. During due diligence, investors often have a long list of questions that build on each other. If answers come slowly, the process drags out and decisions get rushed at the end. When answers come quickly, the investor can keep a steady pace, do the work properly, and decide with a clear head.

“It felt like I was actually getting into business with people that were trustworthy… And yourself and Mike, it was very great when we had the initial call and you told me about what EB5AN does and your track record and how you guys operate. And EB5AN, right from the get-go, was very responsive. It was quite helpful.”—Karthik from India

Karthik also focused on the same point: the speed and consistency of communication from the start. He described how that early responsiveness set the tone for the rest of the relationship. If a regional center is attentive before an investor signs, it is more likely to stay attentive after filing. Investors pay attention to that pattern because they know EB-5 is not a short process. It can take years.

“I have three letters, and they are S-A-M. It’s you, Sam, because whenever I spoke with you, your professionalism, the way you communicate—you’ve never forced us to sign on any project without helping us as much as you can and letting us complete our due diligence. And just the overall vibes. That’s something that you cannot explain, but whenever I spoke with you, I always felt confident that Twin Lakes was the project and EB5AN was the company that I wanted to invest through.”—Rahul from India

Rahul talked about the tone of the conversations: professional, calm, and not pushy. For him, confidence came from the way Sam communicated and the fact that EB5AN never pressured his family to move faster than their due diligence allowed. That approach is a form of respect. It tells investors the firm expects questions, welcomes them, and is willing to earn trust through the work, not through sales pressure.

EB-5 investors should look for a regional center that respects and cares about its investors—and this should be clear from the way the regional center communicates.

Full Investment Transparency and Investment Documents

“We had actually looked at other regional centers, and EB5AN was very transparent. The most important thing we looked at was, “Who are the promoters? Who are the people behind this?” They were all highly educated, very good backgrounds, excellent pedigrees.”

“All that translated to when we interacted. For example, Sam and his colleagues, when we interacted, were very professional and they were open, they were able to share what all could be shared, and they were able to give us opinions. They also had an excellent repository of data, so we could look into a lot of the data, even testimonials, including about different projects. Even the Dropbox files gave all the information. They gave everything upfront, the subscription documents—everything they had advance. At every stage, if we had any doubt, we could call and that was answerable.”

“The most important thing is that Sam was clear when I was asking about the project, how much they had sold, everything. We used to get reports—last month they sold this, this month they sold this. This means that they are on track of how it is doing, and all that made a very big difference in terms of building the confidence. That’s the reason why EB5AN, which we chose, was fantastic.”—Mohan from India

Transparency can be a vague concept. But Mohan immediately saw it in his interactions with EB5AN. He pointed to a strong library of data, project materials, and past investor experiences. He also mentioned how documents were provided up front, including subscription materials, and how the team was willing to explain and discuss them. That matters because a large part of EB-5 risk comes from what investors do not know at the time they commit capital. When information is held back or released in fragments, investors cannot test assumptions or compare options.

Investors do not need a regional center to make the decision for them. They need a team that can answer clearly, state what is known, and flag what is uncertain. A regional center that communicates like that reduces guesswork. It also reduces the odds of misunderstandings later.

“EB5AN was extremely great at communicating… When I took a look at the subscription agreement, I liked how everything was laid out in a clear and legible way… and it felt like I was actually getting into business with people that were trustworthy. It showed me as an investor what I needed to know in order to make the right decision, which I didn’t find in any other regional center.” — Karthik from India

Karthik described the subscription agreement itself as part of the trust-building process. He noticed that it was laid out clearly and in a way that helped him understand what he needed to know to decide. That sounds simple, but it is not common. Many investors encounter documents that feel dense and inaccessible. When a regional center makes the paperwork readable and then talks through it without defensiveness, it’s a clear sign of transparency—and something that EB-5 investor should expect.

“You never said, “Invest with us, otherwise I’m going to withhold all this information.” You were ready to present the information, and it wasn’t just about your projects, it was, “If you invest with us or through anybody else, these are the things you need to keep in mind.” And number two, looking at your track record, your pedigree, obviously those things are important to my wife and I—the infrastructure that you’ve put together. You can tell that you have a team of great individuals that are constantly working on getting things done.”—Rahul from India

Rahul made a point that speaks directly to transparency as a value. He said EB5AN did not treat information as leverage. In his view, the firm was ready to share details and to help his family think through what to look for in any EB-5 offering, even beyond EB5AN projects. That kind of openness builds credibility because it aligns with how serious investors behave. Serious investors compare deals. They ask hard questions. They want standards they can apply across the market. A regional center that supports that approach is telling investors, “We would rather you choose us for the right reasons than choose us without understanding the decision.”

Educating Our EB-5 Investors

“When I started to develop specific questions regarding the Twin Lakes project, I was very pleased to see, first of all, that you and Mike were available to respond specifically to questions with what I felt was a lot of expertise. I spent quite a bit of time with Mike questioning the economic analysis, which is what the job creation requirements are based on. The RIMS to economic analysis model, I had to become educated about that. I really wanted to feel comfortable that the job creation requirements had already been met for the investors.”

“You guys were definitely able, over a series of conversations, to educate me regarding that and to leave me with a very comfortable feeling that the critical aspect of the application as already in place. I also felt that there were complex documents, subscription documents, that were explained to me clearly over a number of different conversations. You guys were available, you understood what you were doing. I felt that there was a level of professionalism and knowledge and experience that came through, and in the end, I had a very good feeling of confidence and trust in your firm.”—James from Canada

Investors often say they want “education,” but what they usually mean is something more specific: they want to understand the one or two issues that could make or break the immigration outcome. James gave a clear example. He spent serious time questioning the economic analysis and learning the job-creation model behind it. He needed to understand how job creation was being calculated and why he could feel comfortable that the requirement was already in place. He described a series of conversations where EB5AN helped him learn the framework and left him with a strong sense of comfort about that core issue.

When a regional center is willing to sit with those questions and keep answering them, it sends a message: “We expect you to understand this. We expect you to verify. We are not afraid of scrutiny.”

“So working with you guys—specifically you, Sam, and your team—that was amazing. Each step of the process was pretty clearly laid out, I would say. As I mentioned before, an enormous amount of educational resources to guide someone novice like me—the webinars, the blog posts, the documentation. It was a well-informed decision that I made, and I made it with confidence.”

“Also, each team member thereafter, after the initial meetings with you for documentation purposes and for transfer of money to the escrow account and such, every team member I interacted with, they were aligned with your organization’s goal, demonstrated prompt, professional communication. I was really happy.”—Felix from India

Felix described something many first-time EB-5 investors need: a clear path from “I’m new to this” to “I can make an informed decision.” He pointed to EB5AN’s educational resources—webinars, written materials, and documentation—and the way the process was laid out step by step.

Ongoing Support from EB5AN

“I still remember when we were getting the wire out with the whole SVD thing, and you and your team were available for us. That was huge.”—Rahul from India

Rahul mentioned a stage in the process that can be complicated: transferring the EB-5 funds. For many families, the wire process is stressful, especially when banks require extra documentation or when timing is tight. He described EB5AN being available during that window and helping his family get the wire out. That kind of practical support through every stage of the process is exactly what EB-5 investors need.

EB5AN’s Sincere Interest in its Investors

“It’s an important financial decision. Of course, $800,000 is a significant sum of money, but it’s much more than that. This is a life-changing decision for an investor in their families. They’re talking about moving to a new country, starting a new life. I would say the concern and the interest you have for the investors and the fact that this is a big life decision for them, not simply a financial investment—that has come through in your approach. And I appreciate that you understand the importance of this, and as you’re saying, you want to give the investor the most information possible, the most to help them with that decision.”

“You’re caring concern, frankly, at a human level, for what the investor is doing for themselves and for their family. That has come through and that was important to me. Relationships are important for me. I do, to a certain degree, go with a gut feeling on things. Same thing with picking an attorney. I needed to find somebody that I felt I had a good rapport with, that I felt was concerned, cared—as well as being professional, an expert and having expertise. That human contact and element was really important to me, and that’s something I really appreciated from dealing with you and Mike.”—James from Canada

For many investors, trust is just as important as the financial and immigration details of an EB-5 offering. James said something that comes up often in these interviews: the investment amount matters, but the life change matters more. Families are planning a move, schooling, careers, and an entirely new future. He felt EB5AN understood that reality and treated the decision with the seriousness it deserves. He described a sense of real concern at a human level, not just professional competence.

That matters because investors can tell when a firm views them as a transaction. They can also tell when a firm sees the people behind the paperwork. But putting our investors first creates a relationship where investors feel comfortable asking questions that may seem basic, repeating concerns, and taking the time they need to make a decision.

EB5AN: A Trustworthy Regional Center

At the end of the day, the strongest EB-5 regional centers are the ones who stay available when the process gets detailed—when documents need to be reviewed, questions need clear answers, and deadlines need to be met. That’s what comes through in these interviews: investors felt supported by EB5AN before they committed, and they felt supported after they filed.

As Sam Silverman puts it, “Our job is to earn trust the slow way—by being reachable, by putting answers in writing, and by treating every question as reasonable.” Mike Schoenfeld adds, “Investors shouldn’t have to guess how job creation works or what a document means; if something matters, we’ll walk through it until it’s clear.”

If you want to hear what our investors say for yourself, watch the compilation video and schedule a free consultation—so you can judge the quality of the EB5AN team the same way these investors did.