EB-5 Visa Program News Blog: Chicago Convention Center

EB-5 Visa Program News Blog: Chicago Convention Center: IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Taher Kameli Phone (weekday): 312.427.0910 Phone (weekend): 312.375.6755 Email: info@chicagoeb5.com Dece...

Chicago Convention Center

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Taher Kameli

Phone (weekday): 312.427.0910

Phone (weekend): 312.375.6755

Email: info@chicagoeb5.com

December 14, 2011- Chicago, IL- Designated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on March 5, 2009, the Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC became the first approved EB-5 Pilot Program Regional Center in Chicago. The Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC is committed to creating jobs and providing services within the community.

The EB-5 Pilot Program is growing in popularity. As a result, new Regional Centers have been emerging all over the United States. There are currently 207 designated Regional Centers, each operating in different geographical areas and industries. It has become challenging to differentiate between each Regional Center and the projects that they offer. The Chicagoland area currently has at least two designated Regional Centers with proposed projects. The Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC has been contacted by several sources regarding one potential project that individuals and companies have mistakenly associated with it. A Regional Center separate and apart from the Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC is sponsoring the Chicago Convention Center project with the goal of using a large sum of EB-5 investment funds.

As is the case with all Regional Centers, each stands on its own and has a unique process for deciding which projects to undertake. The Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC is not responsible for the success or failure of any projects that are not directly sponsored by them. The Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC have never provided any consulting or advising services to any other Regional Center, nor have they ever had any contact with the Regional Center responsible for the Chicago Convention Center project. The Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC does not have a partnership, association, relationship, affiliation or agreement with any other Regional Center or their sponsored projects, including but not limited to the Chicago Convention Center.

The Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC carefully vets potential projects to make sure that only the finest business models are selected. First, the Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC targets geographical areas that have higher than average levels of unemployment. Projects are then chosen based on how many jobs will be created and whether the project will be sustainable while providing a needed service to the local community. The Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC has several fully subscribed projects that meet our strict criteria with numerous Form I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneurs approvals.

The Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC is continuing the goals it had when designated in 2009. By putting the needs of their investors first, the Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC has been able to begin the flow of desperately needed capital to new commercial enterprises that will create employment in impoverished areas within their approved geographic area. It is the hope of the Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC that they will be able to aid in the development and prosperity of the region for many years to come.

If you would like more information about this program or the Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC, please schedule an interview with Taher Kameli. Call 312.427.0910 during the week or 312.375.6755 on weekends. You may also send an e-mail to info@chicagoeb5.com

Is Our Government Authorizing Shady Middlemen to Sell Green Cards?

Is Our Government Authorizing Shady Middlemen to Sell Green Cards?

Dec 06, 2011 2:56 PM EST

Opinion By Fox News

The con man has an offer too good to resist. He, along with hundreds of others can be authorized by the federal government to manage investment money and sell green cards to foreign investors under a federal program known as the EB-5 Investor Visa.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing this week on the program but the title "Reauthorizing the EB-5 Regional Center Program: Promoting Job Creation and Economic Development in American Communities" is troubling. It indicates the Committee may simply rubber-stamp continuation of the program instead of subjecting it to a long overdue, thorough and transparent investigation of the program.

EB-5 was put into place in 1992 to spur job growth by offering green cards to foreigners in exchange for an investment of $500,000 to $1 million. Each investment is supposed to create 10 jobs. 10,000 green cards are allotted for this purpose each year.

The United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) has authorized 204 EB-5 regional centers, each officially defined as "any economic entity, public or private, which is involved with the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation and increased domestic capital investment." The centers serve as middlemen to initiate the process of reaching out to foreign investors and matching their investments with local projects.

Never mind the unseemly aspect of selling American green cards as if we're scalping hockey tickets, do the math and question whether $5 to10 billion is really going to find its way into the right places for the right reasons. Ask too, whether the federal government, or anyone in this instance, should be trusted to properly oversee the program, especially in the wake of mismanaged stimulus money and green dollars fueling a Solyndra bankruptcy scandal.

While some of the EB-5 regional centers are large and appear to be engaged in legitimate investments, upon close examination of the entire list, almost a third of the centers appear to be dubious, one-person shops with "CEOs" who have generic e-mails ending in "gmail," "hotmail" or "yahoo."

At least 43 centers do not even have a website, 11 have no contact information, and of those regional center websites that are active, many are either barely legible or not written in English. Interestingly, some of the regional centers are actually immigration attorney websites.

The large regional centers offer foreign investors a range of investment options including hotel, resort and shopping center developments. The small regional centers offer green cards in exchange for investing in everything from house foreclosures to vitamin supplements.

Feeling suspicious? Congress should be, too.

And for further intrigue, why does USCIS regard a "person residing in the United States under suspension of deportation" as an officially qualifying employee of the EB-5 program? Ten illegal aliens whose deportation has been put on hold - which is happening every day under Obama's new administrative amnesty policies - seems to perfectly satisfy the requirement to create ten jobs.

The con man's dilemma of getting the first person's money in order to entice others is potentially solved with EB-5. The initial foreign investor's infusion of cash appears to be used as a means by the "middleman" to solicit additional individuals, businesses and government municipalities to finance various, and possibly fraudulent, investment schemes.

Fraud and abuse has already happened and the conditions are ripe for more instances. One such California venture which received millions in EB-5 funding was the El Monte Transit Village project, an authorized EB-5 Regional Center.

The FBI is investigating how this project received federal, state and city money to develop 65 acres of housing, offices and stores at a cost of $1 billion. The company declared bankruptcy and the owners are being accused of fraud, embezzlement and theft. Another EB-5 regional center, Mamtek in Moberly, Missouri left the town on the hook for $39 million and the state holding another $17.6 million in debt as a result of the project going sour.

The fictional old West character Walter Scott once yelped, "There's gold in them thar hills." But he was also a con man who led people to a mine that didn't actually exist. Something is glittering that may not be gold and it's high time for Congress to investigate who the true beneficiaries are of the EB-5 program.

Better yet, Congress should shut down the program and devise a rational, skilled-based legal immigration policy. Then many of the people buying their way in with EB-5s might otherwise qualify as skilled immigrants.

Bob Dane is Communications Director at the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Kristen Williamson is Communications Assistant at FAIR.

Meet the EB-5 Pilot

By Joshua Pringle, Contributing Editor From Multi-Housing News Online

Meet The EB-5 Pilot

In 1990, in an effort to stimulate job creation and foreign capital investment in the United States, Congress created the Immigrant Investor Program, commonly referred to as EB-5. The program provides foreign nationals a way to obtain a temporary green card by investing in U.S. economic development projects.

In 1993, the EB-5 Pilot Program was implemented, supported by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Pilot Program creates regional centers that act as a liaison between foreign investors and the U.S. government and ensures that the requirements of EB-5 are met.

Taher Kameli is executive director of Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, a Regional

Center that represents 14 counties in northeastern Illinois and five counties in northwest

Indiana. “A Regional Center has been defined as a public or private entity that has been established to help the economic growth of the region,” explains Kameli. “The U.S. government designates a company as a Regional Center, and then that company has to find projects and bring foreign investors to those projects,” he adds.

Investment money can come entirely from foreign sources, or it can be a mix of foreign and

domestic capital. For an investor to meet the qualifications of EB-5, the minimum investment is $1 million. Or, if the investment targets a high-unemployment or rural area, the minimum qualifying investment is $500,000. Each investment must also create 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers.

Investors are not required to go through a Regional Center if they are able to put together a comprehensive business plan on their own, demonstrating how the jobs will be created and the requirements met. However, the application process for EB-5 can be a lengthy one, even when the investor does go through a Regional Center.

“In this program,” Kameli says, “the money sits in an escrow account until the application is approved by the U.S. government, which may take six to eight months. And if the individuals are from different countries—certain countries that the U.S. government has sanctions against—those individuals have to get permission from the U.S. government before even sending the money to the escrow account. It adds about six to eight months more to their regular processing. So it may take about a year to one-and-a-half years for the money to be released, and that is something that doesn’t sit well with the real estate community, because it needs the money today.”

The government has been trying to improve the turnaround time on these projects for years. In fact, the program was put on hold from 1998 to 2003 while the application process was streamlined. “After that, it picked up,” Kameli says, “and since 2004 we have seen a surge every year in EB-5 applications.” Currently, “they’re talking about expediting the program and the application process for the individuals if the project is shovel-ready. If we get the application to go through in an expedited way, I think it’s going to be much more attractive to the development community.”

Regional Centers in Seattle and parts of California have successfully pushed through several projects, and other regions are close behind. Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group was not designated until March of 2009, but Kameli is pleased with its progress so far. “In the state of Illinois we have raised enough money to start and finish five assisted-living facilities. That is about $58 million in total committed from the foreigners to set up these facilities.”

Investors from China, South Korea and other parts of East Asia have shown a big interest in the program, as it potentially gives them access to the United States that they would otherwise be unable to obtain. Kameli says, “Many of these investors are getting the green card for, number one, education of their children; number two, to be able to come to the United States much more easily; and number three, to come here and start a new business.”

As of now, the EB-5 Program is scheduled to sunset at the end of September 2012, but the program has been extended several times, and members of the business community are lobbying to make it a permanent program. IIUSA (The Association to Invest in USA) recently held a fundraising event in San Antonio, Texas, advocating for EB-5 permanency. NES Financial, which provides EB-5 escrow administration services, sponsored the fundraiser and spoke out in support of the program’s positive impact on job creation and development.

“I don’t think there’s any reason for the president or Congress to shut this program down,” Kameli says. “It’s a win-win situation. It brings foreign money to the country, and jobs will be created based on the mandate of the U.S. government. I think it is very good for the current state of our economy.”

EB-5 Visa Program News Blog: EB-5 Investor Program; Choosing the Right Path

EB-5 Visa Program News Blog: EB-5 Investor Program; Choosing the Right Path: Social and political instability worldwide has led an ever-increasing number of nouveau riche foreign nationals to research and consider US...

EB-5 Investor Program; Choosing the Right Path

Social and political instability worldwide has led an ever-increasing number of nouveau riche foreign nationals to research and consider USCIS’s EB-5 program. While the investment itself must be considered ‘at-risk’, more and more investors are factoring in better property protection, living environment, and education for kids through immigration to the United States as additional benefits of the EB-5 program. These seemingly added bonuses have enticed enough foreign nationals to apply for permanent residency through the EB-5 program at a rate in 2011 that is double that of 2010 and ten times greater than 2007.

One of the many challenges to the EB-5 program is the comparatively higher labor costs. The manufacturing industry has seen a strong shift in outsourcing in the last decade or so in efforts to keep prices down and remain competitive in a global marketplace. Because the EB-5 jobs must be created for American workers, the labor costs could leave businesses operating at a loss. In the event that a business fails to sustain the EB-5 required number of jobs for the two year conditional period, applicants run the risk of a cancelled application.

With all of these risk factors, how do EB-5 investors mitigate the risks their investment. EB-5 investors should be given all of the information about the program, its risks, and the projects in which they are investing. Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group (CFIG) is a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services EB-5 Regional Center that prides itself on its honesty and integrity. CFIG’s Executive Director, Taher Kameli, has been involved in both immigration and international business law for almost two decades and fully understands the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and immigration processes.

Although the trend internationally is for migration agents to ignore risk factors when offering EB-5 projects, CFIG operate differently. CFIG provide honest disclosure to accredited investors and extends its responsibility further to helps guide EB-5 investors through the processes. CFIG recognizes how significant a risk and change EB-5 investors assume, and therefore, treats every investor as an individual versus a mere source of capital.

EB-5 Visa Program News Blog: Get to know Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group E...

EB-5 Visa Program News Blog: Get to know Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group E...: Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC (CFIG) is an U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved EB-5 Regional Center, receiving i...

Get to know Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group EB-5 Regional Center

Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, LLC (CFIG) is an U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved EB-5 Regional Center, receiving its designation in 2009. As an EB-5 Regional Center, CFIG promotes investment projects aimed at assisting investors in obtaining permanent residence status.

CFIG structured uniquely so that in all of its projects the investors are always protected.

By designing an EB-5 Regional Center that is truly dedicated to the protection of the investors, CFIG has implemented clearly defined exist strategies in each of the projects in an effort to minimize the EB-5 Investor’s risk.

At CFIG, we pride ourselves on adherence to the integrity and goals of the EB-5 Program. We strive to ensure that our projects are as safe as possible for investors. By retaining control over our projects, CFIG is able to oversee development and operation from start to finish–ensuring completion of the Program requirements. This allows CFIG to have a positive impact on the community through growth in businesses which are both sustainable over long periods of time and capable of creating numerous permanent jobs.

What Makes CFIG Unique?

CFIG takes a vested interest in the goals and aspirations of our investors. We view investors as individuals and not just investment dollars. The center understands both the EB-5 and general immigration programs and provides unparalleled experience and expertise in helping investors complete the immigration process to create a win-win situation in which both investors and projects achieve their goals while promoting economic growth, improving regional productivity, and creating jobs.

For more information please visit www.ChicagoEB5.com

Seminar on Funding and State Contract for Small Businesses Hosted By State Rep. La Shawn k. Ford

To register and attend the seminar CLICK HERE

EB-5 Visa Program News Blog: Is Canada Taking Our Capital?

EB-5 Visa Program News Blog: Is Canada Taking Our Capital?: How Red Tape Surrounding the EB-5 Program May Be Driving Funds into Canada , Away from the U.S. The continued economic instability of the U...

Is Canada Taking Our Capital?

How Red Tape Surrounding the EB-5 Program May Be Driving Funds into Canada, Away from the U.S.

The continued economic instability of the United States has left elected officials in all major cities scrambling for vital funds to pay teacher salaries, repair infrastructure, and keep the city clean and safe. As they rearrange funds at the expense of vital programs, Executive Director of Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, Taher Kameli, says that the answer to our economic woes really lay overseas by utilizing the generally unfamiliar EB-5 program. With a number of conditions and requirements, though, the U.S. EB-5 program can be overlooked by investors for the more convenient Canada Immigrant Investor Program. Kameli weighs in on how raising EB-5 awareness among government officials in the U.S. can help reduce red tape surrounding the program and drive much needed money into our infrastructure and economy.

The EB-5 program in the United States was created in 1990 to entice foreign investors into opening businesses in America to boost the economy in exchange for a green card, allowing for conditional residency for individuals investing between $500,000 and $1 million in a new commercial enterprise. Said enterprise must directly employ 10 US citizens or authorized immigrants full-time and the investor must engage in the business in some form, either directly through day-to-day managerial tasks or indirectly through policy formation. The minimum investment amount varies based on the geographical area, also termed “Regional Center,” and whether or not said area is a “Targeted Employment Area” (TEA) as designated by the state, meaning that said area has an unemployment rate at least 150% of the national average. Similarly, Canada features both the Canada Immigrant Investor Program and the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program, offering business-minded individuals the opportunity to immigrate to Canada with their families by making a five-year passive investment with the government with the option to finance. The return of funds is government-backed and permanent residency status given to investors. The Canada IIP is so popular, in fact, that it’s currently closed until July 1, 2012 due to an influx of applications. Where as the EB-5 program provides temporary, conditional U.S. residency based on the ability of the investment to create jobs, the Canada and Quebec IIPs provide unconditional residency to the investor and their family.

Though the EB-5 program was established over 21 years ago, the vast majority of U.S. lawmakers and government officials are undereducated on or unaware of the program and it’s tremendous potential for revitalizing the United States. Canada, on the other hand, is active in its Immigrant Investor Programs, using it to boost the economy and fund projects throughout the country.

“When taken advantage of, the EB-5 program has the ability to have a significant positive impact on the infrastructure of the United States. The problem lays in the fact that most U.S. law makers and government officials have not been properly educated on EB-5 and thus don’t give it the attention it deserves,” says Kameli. “Foreign investors are drawn to government-backed and supported programs, which is what makes the Canada and Quebec IIPs so attractive. They want to know that their money has the support of the United States government. If more U.S. government officials could come out in public support of the program and make it more attractive to investors, EB-5 could have a tremendous impact on our country.”

To EB-5 or not to EB-5?

The term ‘EB-5’ has been buzzing around a lot lately. But what is EB-5? What does it stand for? And, more importantly, what does EB-5 mean for me? First things first: EB-5 is a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Immigrant Investor Program. The program was created in 1990 to stimulate the US economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign nationals. Because of the sustainable job creation of each investment, the US government allows EB-5 investors to apply for permanent residency within the United States. Due to the unfortunate state of the US economy, the EB-5 Program has seen a significant increase in popularity as it addresses several fundamental needs that can help to restore the economy—job creation, economic stimulation, and alternative funding sources.

For a firmer grip on what EB-5 is, we must answer the second question: What does EB-5 stand for? EB-5 stands for Employment Based-Fifth Preference. There are five ways to obtain US visas through employment. The first four preferences relate to your own employment. The last, or fifth, preference requires that the applicant employ others. Since the Immigrant Investor Program focuses on job creation and the employment of others, it satisfies the fifth preference and is thus called the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, or EB-5, for short.

Finally, the most important question: What does EB-5 mean for me? By its very nature, the EB-5 program provides plenty of benefits to US citizens. The purpose of the program is to create jobs and stimulate local economies through foreign investments. Jobs are created in areas of high unemployment and employ US citizens. With the addition of jobs, the EB-5 Program helps to stimulate the economy as additional revenue is introduced into the area. The biggest perk of all: these benefits are achieved through EB-5 investment funds—not US tax dollars.

So how do these EB-5 investors create the jobs through their investments? The easiest way is to team up with a Regional Center. Two years after the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program was created, the USCIS introduced the EB-5 Pilot Program. The EB-5 Pilot Program created the Regional Center. A Regional Center is a United States government approved entity dedicated to the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment of a regional.

Regional Centers, like Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group (CFIG), facilitate the matching of foreign investment funds with viable projects. CFIG, in particular, is approached both by foreign nationals interested in obtaining an EB-5 visa and local businesses and projects in search of alternative funding sources. Regional Centers are popping up all across the country. The past few years have seen a growth in the number of designated EB-5 Regional Centers nationwide of over one hundred percent.

The seemingly overwhelming immigration and funding processes can be easily managed by the firms associated with Regional Centers. For example, CFIG was born out of both the need for a Regional Center in Chicago and its principal’s 16 years of experience as an immigration and international business law attorney. Regional Centers offer the perfect starting point for discovering the role that the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program can play in your life and the life of your project.

EB-5 Investor Immigration Program: EB-5 Investors Can Boost Employment

EB-5 Investor Immigration Program: EB-5 Investors Can Boost Employment: How Foreign Investors Can Boost Employment With the continued economic instability, elected officials in all major cities, including C...

EB-5 Investor Immigration Program: EB-5 101

EB-5 Investor Immigration Program: EB-5 101: Launched in 1990, the EB-5 immigrant investor program was designed to stimulate the U.S. economy by attracting foreign investors able to cr...

EB-5 101

Launched in 1990, the EB-5 immigrant investor program was designed to stimulate the U.S. economy by attracting foreign investors able to create jobs. Often incorrectly labeled an immigration program, Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group recognizes the importance of properly explaining EB-5’s origin, mission, and terminology in order to elucidate the many economic benefits.

 At Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, we recognize that the EB-5 visa category has been instrumental for both foreign nationals interested in investing in the U.S. and for job creation. The name of the program comes from the fact that this visa is the 5th category of employment based (EB) visas. Ten thousand visas are set aside annually for investors and their immediate family members under the program. Each investment must create at least 10 new jobs.

What Are the Basic Criteria Required for an EB-5 Visa? In order to qualify for an EB-5 Visa, an investor must invest at least $1,000,000, or $500,000 for a project in a “targeted employment area” (as discussed below), in an enterprise that will create at least 10 new full-time jobs for U.S. citizens and legal residents. If the project is an existing business, the 10 new jobs have to be in addition to the existing jobs in the business. Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group can help further demystify the visa application process.

What is a Targeted Employment Area? A targeted employment area is any city, county, census tract or other geographical area accepted by the USCIS that has an unemployment rate over 150% of the national average rate, or a “rural area.” A rural area is an area outside a metropolitan statistical area or outer boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more.

What is an EB-5 Regional Center? A Regional Center is an entity created by either a public or private group to sponsor projects for EB-5 investors. There are currently about 150 approved Regional Centers, but many more applications are pending with the USCIS and are expected to be approved if their business plans are considered feasible and meet the job creation criteria. According to the trade association IIUSA, Regional Centers have invested over $2.0 billion of foreign capital, creating over 50,000 jobs in the U.S. Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group has the only regional center that allows investors to invest on themselves and play a vital role in their own projects

Who are the EB-5 Investors? EB-5 investors can come from any country outside the U.S., and can even include people who are in the U.S. legally under a temporary visa. In the first three quarters of fiscal 2011, over 70% of all EB-5 investors have come from mainland China and Dubai, where Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group has very strong contacts.

What issue has caused the most problem when applying for an EB-5 visa? The most common problem area has been insufficient documentation of the source of funds. Many people try to disclose the least possible information only to have the file returned with a request for further information.

With the continued economic instability in the United States, the EB-5 program offers a tremendous opportunity to build infrastructure and promote job growth. Chicagoland Foreign Investment group remains committed to both educating and promoting this powerful stimulus program.

EB-5 Investors Can Boost Employment

How Foreign Investors Can Boost Employment

With the continued economic instability, elected officials in all major cities, including Chicago, are left scrambling for vital funds to pay teacher salaries, repair infrastructure, and keep the city clean and safe. But as they rearrange funds at the expense of vital programs, Executive Director of Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group, Taher Kameli, says that the answer to our economic woes really lay overseas. Kameli weighs in on the government program EB-5 and how it can help bring select cities across America back to life.

The EB-5 program was created in 1990 to entice foreign investors into opening businesses in America to boost the economy in exchange for a green card, allowing for conditional residency for individuals investing between $500,000 and $1 million in a new commercial enterprise. Said enterprise must directly employ 10 US citizens or authorized immigrants full-time and the investor must engage in the business in some form, either directly through day-to-day managerial tasks or indirectly through policy formation. The minimum investment amount varies based on the geographical area, also termed “Regional Center,” and whether or not said area is a “Targeted Employment Area” (TEA) as designated by the state, meaning that said area has an unemployment rate at least 150% of the national average. A Regional Center is a specific geographic area within the US that has been approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and seeks to promote economic growth through things like new job creation and increased export sales. There are 150 Regional Centers throughout the United States, and 10,000 investor immigrant visas per year that are available to qualified investors seeking permanent residence.

“The EB-5 program presents us with tremendous opportunity to build infrastructure and promote job growth within Chicago, but many aren’t taking advantage of it because they’re simply not familiar with the program,” says Taher Kameli. “When used to its full extent, the EB-5 program can be used to build schools, hospitals, and assisted living centers among others, creating jobs and helping citizens throughout the Chicago regional center.”