The EB-5 Regional Center Program is on its way to being temporarily extended until October 31st 2009. At 11:33 am today the house voted on a Conference Report which included legislation to enact a one month continuing resolution for the EB5 Regional Center program. Many forecast that congress will uses this extension as a bridge during the development of a permanent program.
On Wednesday, July 22, 2009 the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled “Promoting Job Creation and Foreign Investment in the United States: An Assessment of the EB-5 Regional Center Program.”
Panelists before the committee included Robert F. Kruszka Deputy Chief of USCIS Service Center Operations, Michael T. Dougherty Former USCIS Ombudsman and our colleague, EB5 expert Stephen Yale-Loehr.
The tone of the meeting was very positive with the majority of the meeting revolving around program improvement and ways to encourage investor confidence. This is great news for the EB5 program.
Note the first 21min 50sec is blank (title page).
The Senate adopted an amendment to make the EB-5 Regional Center pilot program permanent in Washington, Wednesday July, 8 2009. This strongly supported bipartisan program is slated to expire in September of this year.
In a press release issued by the amendment’s sponsor, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) commented on the importance of the EB5 program stating “This program must be made permanent if it is to achieve its potential as an economic engine in our communities… Authorizing the program for only months or a few years at a time sends the wrong message to individuals who want to make a permanent commitment to the United States. ”
This amendment is forecasted to significantly grow confidence among immigrant investors.
June 8th through the 10th thousands of people from around the world visited the International Trade Conference Pavilion in Ningbo for The Zhejiang Investment & Trade Symposium, among those in attendance was FirstPathway Partners. The Zhejiang Investment & Trade Symposium serves to encourage exchanges and discussion between companies in the Zhejiang province and overseas investment promotion organizations such as Economic Cooperation Zones, and sister cities like Milwaukee.
During the conference FirstPathway executives attended a lunches hosted by The Ningbo Foreign Affairs Office, The Ningbo Foreign Trade and Cooperation Bureau, The Ningbo Foreign Affairs Office and The Xiangshan Municipal Government. Topics for the meetings included future cooperation, gift exchange, visits, and promotion of the EB5 program.
On the final day of the conference FirstPathway executives attended “Presentation on Investment in the US” a conference jointly held by Council of American States in China (CASIC) and the City of Ningbo. During this conference FirstPathway Representative Young Shen was honored to present “Investor Immigration: New Developments and the EB5 Immigration Process” to hundreds of attendees.
While in Ningbo executives also met with the Bank of China & local immigration agents.
Over forty high-profile investors attended a conference on EB-5 investments hosted by Bob Kraft and agents, Andy Liu, Jane & Felix Wang of Donghu on Thursday, March 26th through the 29th. Seminar topics included: the joys of immigrating to the U.S., a global survey of citizenship investment programs and the benefits of taking advantage of FirstPathway Partners’ Citizenship Fund. This fruitful trip did not only yield several applicants but also served to solidify partnerships with our world-class agent network.
While in China, Mr. Kraft also enjoyed a trip to The Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) on the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Rail where he visited the expansion sites and learned about the ongoing city developments.
Bob would furthermore like to commend all of the staff at First Pathway Partners Shanghai for their impeccable service standards and hospitality.
Persons Obtaining Legal Permanent Resident Status by EB5 Admission: Fiscal Years 1999 to 2008
In 2008 the number of persons gaining permanent resident status through EB5 jumped almost 47% to 1,360 residents. This up from the 806 seen in 2007.
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The Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2008 was recently released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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To view more statistics go to http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/publications/LPR08.shtm
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The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) China Business Council was honored to host the distinguished and admired Ambassador of China to the United States, Zhou Wenzhong, and the Consul General of China in Chicago, Huang Ping, during its annual Chinese New Year Reception on Monday, February 9. Over 75 invited guests and dignitaries gathered to celebrate the Lunar New Year with delicious Jiăozi, stimulating speeches and striking Chinese calligraphy scrolls.
Among the speakers was Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, who spoke highly of his visit to Milwaukee. It was obvious that this event symbolized the not only the meeting of East and west but the solidification of China’s connection to SE Wisconsin.
MMAC China Business Council Co-Chairs Ulice Payne and First Pathway Partners’ Bob Kraft, were honored to present the Ambassador with Milwaukee keepsakes. During the event local business leaders were also given to opportunity to speak with the Ambassador. When asked about his conversations with the Ambassador FPP’s VP of Compliance, Dan Wycklendt said that he had never met a man so noble and humble.
While in Milwaukee the Ambassador and the Consul General also enjoyed a Bucks/Rockets game hosted by the MMAC China Council. The game featured Chinese Native, Western Conference All star, Yao Ming.
FirstPathway Partners is excited to announce the launch of its latest EB5 offering at the $500,000 level! We have been working hard to designate more $500,000 investment areas in the Milwaukee Zone and we now have 3 large areas in the heart of the city where $500,000 investments can be made. The designation applies to the Park East area, a large strip of land owned by Milwaukee County in Downtown Milwaukee, the Pabst Brewery Redevelopment (www.thebrewerymke.com), and the Menomonee Valley, home to Potawatomi Casino (www.paysbig.com) and many manufacturing and distribution operations. All of the areas contain many great investments for our EB5 investors, so we are excited about extending the $500,000 option to them. The application fee for this half-million dollar investment is $50,000.
The accessibility of FirstPathway Partners’ unparalleled services at the $500,000 investment level is exciting news for investors and for the program as it continues to grow. Contact a FirstPathway representative today to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.
FirstPathway Partners and Jian Sun were honored to host three very distinguished guests from China last week. Ms. Shanping Fu, President of Huaxia Taizhen International Education, Victor Shen, Director of the International Exchange Program, Beijing University, and Lingsheng Wang, President and CEO of CAS International Travel Service, were all new visitors to Milwaukee. The guests toured some of FirstPathway Partners’ EB5 projects, met with the Mayor’s office, the MMAC, and local business leaders, and of course got a chance to see the beauty of Milwaukee in the winter time. It was a treat to have such wonderful guests to our offices and we cannot wait for them to visit again as we continue to strengthen the ties between Milwaukee and China!
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
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