FirstPathway Weblog

Our trip to China was very successful. In Shanghai we met with five Immigration Agencies .These agencies represent Chinese citizens who have a desire to immigrate into another country. There is growing interest in China to pursue immigration into the United States. The US EB-5 program is a great vehicle that enables qualified individuals to secure a permanent Green Card, and then, after three years, qualify for US Citizenship. With our partner Scott Harrison and his Shanghai based staff we negotiated contracts with three of the Immigration Agencies. These partnerships will result in FirstPathway Partners having a strong, proactive, business development reach into the robust China market.

Our visit to Ningbo was very fruitful. Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Ningbo, China have formed a Sister City relationship. Over the past two years, both cities have exchanged delegations to pursue mutually beneficial business relationships. We participated, as representatives from Milwaukee, in the 10^th Annual Zhejiang Investment & Trade Symposium, and the 7^th Annual China International Consumer Goods Fair. Discussions revolved around numerous opportunities for Ningbo and Milwaukee. Ningbo is sending a delegation to Milwaukee on July 21^st. We, along with all of our Milwaukee associates, look forward to hosting them and continuing productive dialogues.  

FirstPathway partners and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce are excited to welcome the delegates from Ningbo for the 2008 Ningbo/Milwaukee Business Cooperation Trade Conference.  All are welcome at this conference taking place at the Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel on July 22nd.  Please plan on attending this relationship building event with our Sister-City in China.  Below is the event information.

2008 Ningbo Municipal Government & Economic Cooperation Hosted by Ningbo Municipal People’s Government Undertaken by Ningbo Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation Bureau Supported by Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
Event Dates and Times:	7/22/2008 09:30AM – 02:00PM
Location:	The Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel and Convention Center 4747 South Howell Avenue Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53207 USA (414) 481.8000
Event Fees:	$0 – All are welcome
Description:	This conference will be led by Vice Mayor of Ningbo Mr. Wu Hemin and will consist of more than 30 government officials, business executives and dignataries from Ningbo. The conference will present the latest developments and business opportunities in Ningbo.AGENDA 9:30 PM – 10:00 PM Registration10:00 PM – 10:10 PM Introduction of distinguished guests10:10 PM – 10:20 PM Comments from the General Consulate of the P.R.China in Chicago10:20 PM – 10:30 PM Welcome by Mickey Judkins, State of Wisconsin Department of Commerce, Martha Brown, Milwaukee Department of City Development and Tim Sheehy, MMAC 10:30 PM – 10:50 PM Mr.Wu Hemin, Vice Mayor of Ningbo Introducing Ningbo: The latest in development and economic cooperation 10:50 PM – 11:10 PM Introduction of the Ningbo Cixi Economic Development Zone 11:10 PM – 11:25 PM Introduction of Ningbo information industry 11:25 PM – 12:00 PM Question and answer session 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM Lunch (provided) 12:30 PM – 12:50 PM Comments by Tim Sheehy, MMAC and video introduction of Milwaukee in Chinese 12:50 PM – 1:20 PM Introduction of Ningbo Meishan Free Trade Port 1:20 PM – 2:00 PM Business networking and discussion. Four booths will be available for: Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Ningbo Information industry Ningbo Cixi Economic Development Zone Ningbo Meishan Free Trade Port
Contact Person:	KATIE HENRY (414) 287.4123 khenry@mmac.org

FirstPathway Citizenship Fund to Create Jobs from Foreign Investment

FirstPathway Citizenship Fund was recently sanctioned by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce as qualified vehicle for foreign investors seeking to use the Department of Homeland Security EB5 Program to immigrate to the United States.

To qualify for citizenship under the EB5 program, a foreign investor must invest a minimum of $1,000,000 in a designated Regional Center.This investment must create at least ten jobs for U.S. workers.

The EB5 Program began in the early-1990’s as a means to use foreign investment to create jobs for U.S. workers.The seven-county Milwaukee area became a designated Regional Center for EB5 investment in May 2007.

The $200 million FirstPathway Citizenship Fund pools the foreign investors’ money and places it in qualified real estate development projects within the Milwaukee Region.Typical projects include:

1.Milwaukee International Trade Center (In the abandoned Pabst Brewery complex)

2.The Renaissance ClubSport Hotel & Fitness Resort (A 4-star boutique-style hotel and 70,000+ square foot, resort-style fitness facility)

3.The Hotel Palomar (A 4-star hotel and condominium project in the heart of downtown Milwaukee)

4.The Aloft Hotel (A smaller boutique hotel located on Milwaukee’s scenic Riverwalk)

FirstPathway Citizenship Fund is operated by FirstPathway Partners, a limited partnership, Robert W. Kraft, Chairman.

For more information, visit our website at www.firstpathway.com

Or contact Robert Kraft at     414-791-6968