Kurt: Let’s discuss federal and state registration as an investment advisor (RIA). An unusual aspect of registration is that you need to determine whether you should be registering with a single state, multiple states or with the SEC (federally).
In some cases, you can register with the SEC, which means you’re exempt from the requirement to register with the states, while in others, you're not allowed to register with the SEC but must register with one or more state agencies.
These choices often depend on the amount of EB5 funds under management or upon each state's specific regulations. Also, where your principal office is located and the states you're doing business in determine which states you need to register in.
To complicate matters further, registration may be required where the fund investors are domiciled. But even that is not clear. There's an argument, "Hey, wait a minute. The investors are coming from China. They're not in any state when they make the investment."