[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.
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.
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