Foreign Buyers Show No Signs of Slowing

 [Source: By Jennifer LeClaire | Miami]

 There’s no slow down in the influx of foreign buyers in the commercial real estate arena. In fact, foreign investment in the U.S. factored as the third largest reason why confidence levels are increasing in 2013, according to Akerman Senterfitt.

The firm released its fourth annual survey after its U.S. Real Estate Summit. The survey found that 31% of commercial real estate executives believe foreign investors will fund a significant portion of commercial real estate debt and equity in 2013. And 62% believe that the U.S. will see the most Latin American real estate investment from Brazil. Venezuelan investors are expected to be the second most active, at 28%.

Meanwhile, 60% of percent of industry executives believe that foreign investors will contribute largely to the development of multifamily homes. They also predict that U.S. hospitality (30%) and retail (29%) will be among the top active sectors for foreign investment.

Foreign Buyers Show No Signs of Slowing

For more information on the USCIS EB-5 Immigration Investor program and investment options,

CONTACT EMPIRE STATE EB5 REGIONAL CENTER TODAY!

2815 Monroe Avenue, Suite 2100

Rochester, New York 14618

Tel: (866) 763-6515

                                              EMAIL HERE or WEBSITE HERE

 

 

Key EB-5 Issues Contained in the Senate Comprehensive Immigration Bill Introduced on April 17, 2013

[Source: Laura Reiff and Kate Kalmykov, www.eb5investors.com]

The key EB-5 provisions in the bill include:

-Making permanent the EB-5 Regional Center program.  Introduced in 1992 as a “pilot” program, it has continually been reauthorized by Congress and most recently it was extended through September 30, 2015. 

-Recapture of unused immigrant visa numbers from prior fiscal years. 

-Elimination of per country quotas for employment based visa numbers, this would have 
significant implications for China which is predicted to reach its quota in fiscal year 2014.

-Exemption from the employment based immigrant visa numbers for spouses and children of principal applicants, this means that visa numbers which are currently capped at 10,000 would be allocated solely to principal investors.

-Additional immigrant visas numbers for the EB-5 program as a whole.

Full "Gang of Eight" Legislation Immigration Reform 

USA Major Market Segmentation (2013 - First Quarter)

[Source: www.ibisworld.com]

This graph represents the breakdown of total money spent from consumers in each industries general category. More spending by consumers will boost economic growth in the first two quarters of 2013 after a lull at the end of last year. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. The big winner three months into the new year goes to Finance and Insurance industry.

Funding Hotel Development Projects with EB-5 Capital

[Source: ILW.com]

When the financial crisis made it more difficult to acquire financing through traditional venues, hotel developers started turning to the Federal  USCIS EB-5 program for sources of capital. Since 2008, developers for hotel chains such as Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, have taken advantage of the influx of foreign funds made available through the EB-5 program. 

There are two ways for a foreign entrepreneur to obtain an EB-5 investment visa: investing $1 million into a new commercial enterprise to be run directly by the foreign national in the U.S., or to invest into a “regional center.” The latter is an economic unit that is privately owned or sponsored by the government, and will manage the investment, assisting the investor in complying with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requirements—including job creation.  Since most regional centers are located in “Targeted Employment Areas,” they usually qualify for the lower investment amount of $500,000, another reason that they are attractive to the EB-5 investor. Regional Centers also have a less stringent job creation requirement that allows for indirect job creation. 

Since hotels create both, direct jobs (managers and house keeping for example) and indirect jobs (suppliers of towels and soaps), they are a good fit for foreign investors whose permanent resident status is dependent on meeting the USCIS requirements. Pairing with a regional center also benefits the hotel developers since they assist with business plans and help to attract foreign investors. 

<<<READ FULL ARTICLE HERE>>> 

Hotel Developers or Project Developers contact us directly with interest or more information to how EB-5 financing can be a part of you next venture.

CONTACT EMPIRE STATE EB5 REGIONAL CENTER TODAY!

2815 Monroe Avenue, Suite 2100

Rochester, New York 14618

Tel: (866) 763-6515

                                              EMAIL HERE or WEBSITE HERE

More than a Green Card for Sale, the EB-5 Program is Good for America!

(Author: K. Lara Baharlo, Esq., Of Counsel, Wolfsdorf Immigration Law Group, Original article HERE) 

In 1990 Congress created the employment-based fifth preference visa category (EB-5) category for foreigners seeking to invest in a business that will benefit the US economy and create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualified US workers. The amount required to invest is $1 million or $500,000 if the investment is made in a high unemployment or rural area.

Some portray the typical EB-5 investor as an ultra-rich Chinese businessman in the market for a prestigious US green card. One restrictionist group describes EB-5 as a “tacky, troubled program that doesn’t do much for economic development.” Others say the EB-5 program “let[s] the guys in with the money and leave[s] the best and brightest waiting in line.” Meanwhile, participants in the program have their own criticisms, alleging that US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is hostile toward EB-5 because it is viewed as a “green card for sale” program that denigrates the US immigration system, and is essentially bad for America.

A fundamental tenet of the EB-5 program is job creation, which is often minimized by program critics. There are economic citizenship programs available in some countries through which an individual can buy a passport for a price. However, the EB-5 program requires much more in that the investment required to put one on the path to permanent residency must, amongst other things, create jobs and be at risk. As such, the “green card for sale” concept is flawed and oversimplifies the EB-5 process.

According to statistics published by IIUSA, the industry trade association for the EB-5 Regional Center Program, almost 100,000 jobs have been created for US workers through the EB-5 program, with nearly $5 billion in capital infused into job creating enterprises in the United States since 2005. These figures should be viewed against an increasingly common backdrop of outsourcing and offshore back-office operations. Should we not welcome a program that creates US jobs and infuses a lagging economy with much needed capital? Already, the US must compete with investor programs that are more attractive due to better administration and less stringent requirements. Although some of these programs are more expensive, they can offer passive investment opportunities and shorter processing times with a higher degree of certainty that the investor will achieve his or her goal of residency.

Yes, the EB-5 program has endured fraud and abuse, but scams and deception are not unique to EB-5. Yes, some Regional Centers have failed to deliver on their promises, and investors and projects have suffered. However, the need for weeding out bad actors must be balanced by the need to provide a predictable and stable program for those with legitimate interests so that the United States can continue reaping the significant benefits of attracting foreign investors, particularly during this time of economic struggle and uncertainty.

America is no longer the overwhelmingly dominant global superpower, and cultural arrogance is not a platform from which to operate a congressionally mandated program. However, the United States is still considered the “land of opportunity” throughout the world and can provide excellent educational and quality of life options for high net worth individuals and their families. Although painful to admit, the US cannot afford to deter the billions in capital and hundreds of thousands of jobs that result from EB-5 investment.

Now is the time for the United States to encourage entrepreneurs, capital inflow and job creation. The EB-5 program is smart business, and the United States should be a world leader in attracting immigrant entrepreneurs who are ready and willing to take on the challenge of making it as investors and job creators in America.
 (Ms. Baharlo can be contacted at lbaharlo@wolfsdorf.com; Original article HERE)

EB-5 Immigration Investor Program Visa Details

[Source: State Department/USCIS/Washington Post]

The visual graph represents the total amount of EB-5 visas that have been issued since the inception of the the program back in 1992. The United States has issued more than 29,000+  EB-5 visas which has created over 50,000+ new US jobs and generated $6.8 billion in investment through the EB-5 program to date. From 2008 to 2013 (current) more than 70% of the issued visas were generated during this time frame. The year 2012 was the most productive year of the EB-5 program since 1992 and 2013 looks out grow the previous year visas.

For more information on the USCIS EB-5 Immigration Investor program, investment options, or basic program knowledge:

CONTACT EMPIRE STATE EB5 REGIONAL CENTER TODAY!

2815 Monroe Avenue, Suite 2100

Rochester, New York 14618

Tel: (866) 763-6515

                                              EMAIL HERE or WEBSITE HERE