March 2015

shutterstock_74614888Immigrant entrepreneurs and investors have always been at the core of the American economy.  Immigrant-founded companies have generated billions of dollars in revenues and contributed intellectual property leading to significant socio-economic advancements within the United States.  Foreign-born entrepreneurs are a critical component to the advancement of the U.S. emerging technology space and it is important to note the variety of visa options available.  This initial post will provide an overview of the nonimmigrant and immigrant visa options available to entrepreneurs and investors in the emerging tech space with future posts focusing on the visa specifics.
Continue Reading U.S. Immigration Visa Options for Entrepreneurs and Investors in the Emerging Technology Space

EB-5 has been alive for 25 years. As part of the program’s silver anniversary celebration, we should be working diligently towards making the Regional Center program permanent. This is not just a wish, but a distinct possibility with the right efforts made by the stakeholders.

The Regional Center program has grown much more popular in recent years. It has attracted the majority of EB-5 capital and aided in the most job creation in the history of EB-5. The Regional Center program has remained a pilot program subject to renewal every three years, and it is scheduled to expire Sept. 30, 2015.

The regional center program has been extended every three years since 1993.

While the program has come under political attack in recent months with a few members of Congress intimating that it should expire or be revamped, the EB-5 Coalition, a broad-based group of trade associations and stakeholders, believes this opinion is misplaced as a result of a small number of bad actors in the EB-5 space.

Continue Reading Why EB-5 Legislative Reform is Very Possible This Congress

The EB-5 program is currently at risk of expiring Sept. 30, 2015.  Congress needs to act immediately to reauthorize this program which has a proven record for stimulating the economy and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. On March 23, 2015, Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) released a statement explaining the merits of the EB-5 program and the reasons why this program should not be further delayed in partisan debate.

On Jan. 28, 2015, Congressmen Jared Polis and Mark Amodei (R-NV) introduced The American Entrepreneurship & Investment Act of 2015 [HR 616] in a push to permanently authorize the EB-5 Immigrant Investor program.   The bill has received strong support from the real estate, business, and tourism industries, also evidenced by the EB-5 Coalition’s final letter supporting HR 616 released earlier this month.  The legislation makes the following proposals:
Continue Reading Legislation Needed to Make EB-5 Program Permanent

Each month, the Department of State (DOS) issues a visa bulletin which contains information regarding the availability of immigrant visas. The availability of immigrant visas is subject to numerical caps imposed by Congress, which limit how many foreign nationals may obtain immigrant visas each year. In the employment based green card category Congress allots 140,000 immigrant visas (green cards) to be issued annually. The employment-based categories are subdivided into five preference categories:

  • EB-1: Priority Workers (Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Multinational Managers or Executives)
  • EB-2:  Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees and Persons of Exceptional Ability
  • EB-3:  Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Unskilled Workers
  • EB-4:  Certain Special Immigrants including Religious Workers
  • EB-5:  Immigrant Investors

No one country in each of the five categories is allowed to exceed more than 7 percent of the category per the requirement of 8 U.S. Code § 1153.Continue Reading What Every Chinese EB-5 Applicant and Agent Need to Know About Retrogression

美国国务院每个月都会公布包含移民签证发放名额信息的签证公告。移民签证名额取决于国会制定的限额,即每年外国人可以获得移民签证的名额上限。在基于雇佣关系的绿卡申请领域,国会每年会发放140,000个移民签证(绿卡)。基于雇佣关系的绿卡申请又分为五个优先领域:

  •  EB-1: 优先工作者(特别杰出的能力,优秀的教授和研究人员,跨国公
  •       司经理或高 管)
  •  EB-2:  拥有高等学历的专业人员和有特殊能力的人才
  •  EB-3:  技术工人,专业人员,以及非技术工人
  •  EB-4:  一些特殊移民包括宗教工作者
  •  EB-5:  投资移民

根据美国法典第8章第1153节的规定,任何一个国家的移民申请人不得超过任何一个领域的总名额的7%。Continue Reading 中国EB-5投资人面临排期过程中美国国务院签证公告的运作方式解读

Greenberg Traurig’s EB-5 team attended the 2015 Invest in America Summit events in Shanghai from March 14-16 to kick off the largest U.S.-themed investment conference and exhibition in China. In celebration of the event’s fifth anniversary, the Summit will travel to three Chinese cities: Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing.

Invest in America welcomed U.S. investment projects, regional centers, real estate brokerage firms, franchises, private equity and venture capital companies, financial services, attorneys, CPAs, international trade agencies, government officials, and colleges to participate in exhibitions and presentations. The Summit provided information to investors and business executives who were eager to learn more about investment and business opportunities in the United States.

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Greenberg Traurig Attorney Kate Kalmykov welcomes the 2015 Invest in America guests at the opening ceremony on March 14, 2015, in Shanghai.

Continue Reading Greenberg Traurig Welcomes Guests at the 2015 Invest in America Summit

True or FalseMyth 1:  Buy a Green Card – The EB-5 program was established to help high-net-worth individuals buy a green card.

Fact:  The EB-5 program is a highly regulated employment-based permanent residence application that takes years to complete.  The initial application requires detailed proof of investment in a qualified project.  It also requires evidence of an investment of either 1 million USD or 500,000 USD and the creation of 10 jobs for U.S. workers.  The investor’s application is screened and, if approved, only a “conditional green card” is granted. The same in-depth review of the project and the investor’s background are conducted two years after conditional status is granted to ensure the individual’s continued eligibility for the EB-5 immigrant investor category.

Myth 2:   Loophole for Criminals/Terrorists – The EB-5 program provides an easier way for potential immigrants to go through background clearances, providing a loophole for potential criminals and terrorists.

Fact:  As described above, the EB-5 program requires an investor’s record to be reviewed two times – once for a conditional green card and then again when obtaining a permanent green card.  In addition to the normal screening process for other employment based permanent residence applicants, which is conducted twice for EB-5 applicants, the EB-5 applicant must have the project reviewed for compliance with regulatory requirements, including proving the requisite amount of investment and the requisite number of jobs to be created.  Moreover, EB-5 applicants go through a rigorous vetting process to demonstrate that their source(s) of funds is(are) lawful and that those funds can legally be invested into qualified projects.
Continue Reading Myth vs. Fact: Responses to Arguments Against the EB-5 Pilot Program

On March 7-8, 2015 Greenberg Traurig, LLP served as co-hosts of the third annual U.S. Investment Immigration Forum (USIIF) in Shenzhen, China.  The event brought together over 70 migration agents, regional centers and attorneys to discuss the latest updates in EB-5 including the issues in source of funds processing for Chinese nationals, status of the Regional Center Pilot Program reauthorization on Capitol Hill, as well as a report from migration agents regarding the Chinese investment climate.  Kate Kalmykov delivered a keynote address on the topic of EB-5 visa retrogression which discussed the impending backlog, the process for pending cases when retrogression is imposed, and alternative solutions for eligible Chinese applicants to process for their immigrant visa.  Immigration attorneys Laura Reiff, Jennifer Hermansky and Kate Kalmykov also served as panelists over the course of the two days on various panels related to hot topics in EB-5.  Securities attorney Batya Goodman participated on the securities law panels and discussed the importance of proper disclosure in the drafting of EB-5 project-related private placement memorandums, broker/ dealer issues, and due diligence concerns.  The event was co-hosted by the Shenzhen Cable TV company and was televised to millions of viewers across China.

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Greenberg Traurig attorneys Jennifer Hermansky, Batya Goodman and Kate Kalmykov at the USIIF 2015 Conference in Shenzhen. Hermansky, Goodman and Kalmykov presented on various EB-5 topics throughout the day.

Continue Reading Greenberg Traurig Co-Hosts U.S. Investment Immigration Forum 2015 Conference in Shenzhen, China