Niral Patel is a Partner at KLDP LLP’s New York office. He has experience in many aspects of U.S. corporate and investment immigration law.

As a leader of the firm’s Indian and Middle Eastern practice group, Niral regularly travels to India and UAE to meet with investors and migration agents to educate and guide them through the EB-5 process. Specifically, Niral’s EB-5 Investor-side visa work includes advising current and prospective investors on their long-term immigration goals. This includes formulating strategies related to source of funds, aging out children, and how the EB-5 visa works in conjunction with other visas such as the J-1, H-1B, and L-1.

On the corporate side, Niral formulates strategies for regional center creation and operations, advises businesses on EB-5 corporate structuring and financing, and works closely with securities attorneys, economists, and business plan writers to ensure EB-5 compliance. This includes advising on and overseeing the lifecycle of the EB-5 program – preparing I-526 templates, exemplars, foreshadowing/advising on potential issues of material change, preparing I-829 template, and advising on issues related to redeployment.

On the Non-EB-5 side, Niral regularly consults startup and franchise businesses in creating and maintaining businesses for investment into-and maintain compliance for-E-2 and L-1A visa programs. For employment-based immigrant visas, Niral represents both domestic and global corporate clients with respect to preparing and filing the employment-based petitions and adjustment of status applications for their employees in the U.S., as well as individuals with extraordinary abilities and nationally and internationally recognized achievements, including EB-1s and National Interest Waivers.

Due to his knowhow in navigating through failed EB-5 projects, Niral has extensive experience in counseling investors who have become involved in failed EB5 projects and/or projects that have involved fraud or misrepresentation. On the corporate side, Niral has worked closely with SEC agents, civil litigation attorneys, and receivers to consult and advise on impacts of their investigations and findings on immigrant investors. For the investor, Niral advises and consults on how to lawfully maintain immigration status, including filing I-290B Appeals or Motions to Reopen & Reconsider.

Lastly, Niral also has federal litigation experience, representing an individual who received an H-1B denial. This includes successfully obtaining a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, which later led to a settlement with the government in favor of the H-1B beneficiary. In addition, Niral has successfully represented investors in federal court in mandamus actions for pending immigration cases, including EB-5 cases.

Publications & Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker

    Get an American Green Card by Investment 2022

    BLS Media

    January 2022

  • Panelist

    EB-5: Complying with and Implementing Integrity Reforms

    IIUSA

    November 2021

  • Speaker

    H-1B to EB-5 Interactive Webinar

    ILW

    September 2020

  • Moderator

    Key EB-5 Updates and South Asian Investor Market Updates

    IIUSA

    August 2020

  • Speaker

    H-1B to Eb-5 Interactive Webinar

    ILW

    August 2020

  • Moderator

    Global Residency & Citizenship Expo 2020

    PHD Chamber of Commerce, New Delhi

    July 2020

  • Speaker

    H-1B to EB-5 Interactive Webinar

    ILW

    July 2020

  • Speaker

    Covid-19 Immigration Update

    Orange County Bar Association

    May 2020

  • Speaker

    EB-5 & Foreign Wealth Management Seminar

    DHP & Baker Tilly

    June 2018

  • Panelist

    India Expo

    ILW, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai

    April 2018

  • Author

    Important Considerations When Choosing a Project for your Investment in the $900k Era

    LCR Whitepapers

    March 2020

  • Author

    “Direct EB-5 v. Regional Center

    StepGlobal

    February 2019

Memberships & Professional Organizations

  • American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)

  • New York State Bar Association (NYSBA)

  • South Asian Bar Association (SABA)

  • Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA)

  • Orange County Bar Association (OCBA)

Community Service

Awards

Education

  • J.D., University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law

  • B.A., University of California, Davis

Admitted to Practice

  • State Bar of California

  • U.S. District Court Central District of California

  • U.S. District Court District of Columbia

Television & Media

Representative Experience

  • Represented up to 15 investors at one time with denied I-829s due to a failed EB-5 Project involving fraud and misrepresentation.

  • Represented a California-based Regional Center that oversees and sponsors 7 EB-5 projects against an SEC lawsuit and worked with a receiver and SEC attorneys/agents to ensure ongoing regional center compliance to protect investors.

  • Successfully filed and action in federal district court, challenging an H-1B denial, while successfully obtaining a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to help the H-1B employee client continue working even after the case was denied and until the case was reopened and approved by USCIS.

  • Successfully filed several mandamus actions for pending I-485s, AP-EADs, I-526s, and I-829s.