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IIUSA is pleased to publish the following report, using U.S. Department of State data, on EB-5 visas usage and trends dating back to 2006. As you can see, the trends indicate a record breaking year in capital formation in the EB-5 Regional Center Program in FY2012, all for the purpose of U.S. job creation at no cost to the taxpayer.
Enjoy!
IIUSA is forming a powerful coalition of stakeholders across all sectors of the economy who support permanent reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program….NOW!
Add yourself to this growing list by DOWNLOADING AND COMPLETING THIS LETTER TEMPLATE and sending it to your Senator and Representative, with a copy to IIUSA (info@iiusa.org).
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Private Sector
Public Sector
Not-for-Profit Sector
EB-5 Regional Centers
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IIUSA is pleased to issue the following report on last week’s EB-5 hearing in the Senate:
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On Wednesday December 7, 2011, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary hosted a hearing titled: “Reauthorizing the EB-5 Regional Center Program: Promoting Job Creation and Economic Development in American Communities.” Committee Chair, the Honorable Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), called the hearing based on his pending legislation that would permanently reauthorize the EB-5 Regional Center Program (“the Program”): Creating American Jobs Through Foreign Capital Investment Act (S. 642). The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Policy & Enforcement held a hearing in September on the reauthorization of the Program, which was soon followed by the introduction of H.R. 2972, the companion legislation to S. 642.
In addition to the vocal support from Chairman Leahy, the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, the Honorable Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), issued a statement praising the Program (Chairman Schumer is also cosponsor of S. 642):
IIUSA affiliated witnesses were:
Each delivered outstanding testimony (which are linked to below), telling the story of national economic impact that the Program now has to tell…all at no cost to the American taxpayer! Our nation’s current economic and fiduciary state require policy solutions that can deliver economic impact at no cost to the public purse. Combined that fact with the realities of globalization, which allow people, culture, and capital to cross national boundaries faster than ever before, and it is easy to see why the Program has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past and continues to today.
In addition to voicing general support for the Program, which he has worked to extend in the past, Committee Ranking Member Honorable Charles Grassley (R-IA) called a Program and all around immigration critic as a witness: David North, Fellow, Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). IIUSA believes the testimonies of Mr. Divine and Mr. Stenger speak for themselves in terms of refuting Mr. North’s misguided assertions about the Program.
IIUSA appreciates the Senator’s duty to examine the Program in its entirety to identify areas for improved effectiveness and regulation. Like any Program, there are areas for improvement. Indeed, IIUSA (along with other stakeholders such as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) and American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”)) have been working with Chairman Leahy on legislation to reform and modernize the Program. USCIS also continues to work within its authority to improve the Program, with IIUSA providing comment along the way. Some of our comments are directly related to these concerns, such as partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and site visits under the existing USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (“FDNS”) – both of which now occur.
Right now the Program needs to be made a permanent part of the America’s “21st Century Economic Development Toolbox.” IIUSA is eager to work with Congress to improve the Program once that occurs. The looming sunset date of September 30, 2012 is having an adverse effect on the marketplace already. There are hundreds of thousands U.S. jobs and tens of billions of dollars of investment capital at stake. Domestic entrepreneurs and foreign investors alike need to know the Program will be here for it to have maximum economic impact.
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A cross-sector coalition voiced their support for permanent reauthorization of the Program. These stakeholders know first hand how important attracting foreign direct investment is in a globalized world, and the job creating economic impact that results.
The growing list of those who submitted letters for the Congressional Record is as follows:
Private Sector
Public Sector
Not-for-Profit Sector
EB-5 Regional Centers
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HEARING PHOTOS (more to be posted):
Senators Patrick Leahy (right) and Charles Grassley (left) begin the Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing on the reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program. Robert C. Divine (left with back towards camera) prepares for testimony.
The following article was printed in the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) on 12/8 about the 12/7 Senate EB-5 hearing on the reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program….
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Bureau of National Affairs (BNA)
“EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program Should Be Permanent, Senate Panel Told”
By Amber McKinney
Congress should make the EB-5 regional center program for foreign investors permanent because the program creates jobs and contributes to the U.S. economy, speakers said at a Dec. 7 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Congress “should be moving forward without delay to reauthorize this important program,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
EB-5 visas are available to immigrants who invest between $500,000 and $1,000,000 in a United States business that creates 10 full-time jobs for American workers. A regional center pilot program that is part of the EB-5 program allows immigrants to invest through a regional center rather than running a new business themselves, and allows the immigrants to count indirect job creation toward the job creation requirement. The EB-5 regional center program is set to expire Sept. 30, 2012.
According to Leahy, in 2011 the regional center program is on track to create an estimated 25,000 jobs and provide direct investment of $1.25 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and David North, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, questioned whether or not the program functions as intended to bring investment dollars and new jobs to the United States.
Leahy Bill Would Make Program Permanent
It is “critical that Congress support U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which administers the program, along with the many men and women who are working hard to bring jobs to their communities, by enacting the permanent authorization legislation that I introduced in March of this year,” Leahy said.
Leahy’s bill, the Creating American Jobs with Foreign Capital Act (S. 642), would make the EB-5 regional center program permanent. Companion legislation was introduced in the House (H.R. 2972).
In a Dec. 7 statement, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is a co-sponsor of S. 642, said “we need to permanently reauthorize the EB-5 program as soon as possible, and we should not tie the reauthorization of the EB-5 program to any other program.”
In addition, during the hearing Leahy said he has been “working for many months with interested parties and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to put together a legislative framework to make significant improvements to the overall program.”
This framework “will provide USCIS with additional authorities to ensure that this important program maintains the highest level of integrity and efficiency,” Leahy said.
Resort President Discusses Value of Program
The EB-5 regional center program provides “significant value” and should be made permanent, said Bill Stenger, the president of Jay Peak Resort in Vermont.
Jay Peak Resort, a winter ski resort, has participated in the EB-5 regional center program in an effort to expand facilities to year-round use, Stenger said. “Since 2005 Jay Peak has developed several EB-5 projects at the resort creating over 2,000 jobs in our region and over the next two years will create that number of jobs again,” he said.
Stenger said the EB-5 program is important because it provides small businesses, particularly those in rural areas, with needed equity capital. “Affordable capital is almost non-existent in this marketplace,” but the EB-5 regional center program has helped Jay Peak raise over $250 million in equity capital, he said.
Stenger recommended making the regional center program permanent, because “short-term extensions cripple the effectiveness” because projects can’t be planned correctly and potential investors don’t have the confidence necessary to join the program.
In addition, USCIS should “make every effort to be as efficient as possible with swift EB-5 case processing,” he said.
Pilot Program Has Been Extended Five Times
Robert Divine, an attorney with Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell, & Berkowitz, P.C. in Chattanooga, Tenn., told the committee that the time has come to make the EB-5 regional center program permanent.
“The pilot program has been extended five times for 19 years,” and has “gained ground in the last several years,” with more investors participating, Divine said.
However, the regional program “will not be able to draw the interest of larger institutional interests until it receives permanent extension,” he said. “Permanent extension will tend to improve the quality of the projects offered to EB-5 investors, whose experience with the program in turn will build confidence for future investors,” Divine said.
Grassley, North Voice Concerns
During the hearing, Grassley expressed concerns that the EB-5 regional center program is “simply selling visas to the highest bidder,” rather than allocating employment visas to people with special skills.
In addition, he said that there have been reports of abuse in the program and those problems need to be “rooted out.”
North agreed, calling the EB-5 regional center program a “dysfunctional portion of a silly program that should be allowed to wither and die.”
According to North, the program is plagued by problems that include giving away visas for too small an initial investment and allowing immigrants to create passive investments instead of direct job creation.
“If we are going to have an immigrant investor program at all,” we should “raise the stakes” higher than the current minimum investment of $500,000, he said.
K. David Andersson, President, IIUSA, was interviewed by KGMI on the “PM Bellingham Show” with Dillon Honcoop yesterday in anticipation of today’s event in Washington State with U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-2nd) unveiling H.R. 2972 (Creating American Jobs with Foreign Capital Investment Act).
In case you don’t have time to listen, here are Mr. Andersson’s “need to know” quotes from the interview:
“This is a Program that has been around in its ‘pilot’ form since 1992. That is a long time for a ‘pilot’ program.”
“This Program is set to sunset in less than a year, and to his credit, Rep Larsen has recognized the benefit to our economy – especially at this time, when jobs are hard to come by…and has taken the initiative in the House of Representatives to make this Program permanent.”
“With a stroke of the pen, and cooperation of the Senate and White House, we could have this very important regional development tool as a permanent part of our economic development toolbox.”
“This Program operates at no cost to the U.S. taxpayer. That’s job creation without a single dime being spent by the taxpayer. Now that is something worth making permanent.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2011
Globalized Economy Sets Stage for Permanent Authorization of Existing Jobs Program
BELLINGHAM, November 7, 2011 – The Association to Invest In the USA (IIUSA), the trade association for the EB-5 Regional Center Investment Pilot Program, announced its support for U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-2nd) and his leadership introducing H.R. 2972 (Creating American Jobs Through Foreign Capital Act). The legislation seeks to permanently re-authorize an existing U.S. job creating Program that has grown in popularity in the post-recession capital markets and created hundreds of jobs in his district.
Representative Larsen and Whatcom Opportunities Regional Center (WORC) will be unveiling the legislation at an event in Bellingham, Washington on November 8th at the Hotel Bellwether, in conjunction with Northwest Economic Council (Whatcom County) and IIUSA.
“We are delighted to work with Representative Larsen to permanently reauthorize this U.S. job creation Program,” said K. David Andersson, President/CEO, WORC and President, IIUSA, “We have created hundreds of jobs with the Program here in Whatcom County. Thousands have been created statewide, and tens of thousands nationally. Representative Larsen’s legislation would allow it to create hundreds of thousands in the years ahead. All at no cost to the American taxpayer, I should add.”
The EB-5 Regional Center Investment Pilot Program is due to expire in September 2012, absent action from Congress. IIUSA estimates failure to permanently reauthorize the Program would result in losses of over 100,000 new U.S. jobs that could have been created and investment losses of at least $10 Billion in foreign direct investment over the next five years. The Program’s growing economic impact and role in the economy can be attributed to an increasingly globalized economy that facilitates exchange of capital and resources across borders at an ever-increasing rate.
H.R. 2972, with cosponsors from Colorado, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont so far, has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. The Committee Chair, Representative Lamar Smith (TX-21st), held a hearing on the Program in mid-September titled, “Investor Visa Program: Key to Creating American Jobs.” There he recognized the Program’s success in his statement, stating: “The number one job of Congress is to create jobs” and that “the investor visa program plays a part in achieving this goal” in large part due to the fact that “Regional Center pilot project, which is almost two decades old, has become the most used part of the investor visa program.”
Event Details
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DOWNLOAD PDF OF PRESS RELEASE.
About IIUSA
IIUSA is the 501(c)(6) not-for-profit industry trade association of active EB-5 Regional Centers (“Regional Centers”), attorneys, and other EB-5 related service providers. Regional Centers are private corporations and/or government agencies designated by the U.S. federal government to allow foreign investors to invest capital in local economics with the goals of preserving and creating U.S. jobs through economic development. For more information, see http://iiusa.org.
About WORC
WORC was designated as an EB-5 Regional Center in 2006, and has since focused on facilitating investments and creating jobs in Whatcom County in the State of Washington. These efforts have succeeded in creating hundreds of jobs for local residents, helping the local economy get through today’s uncertain economic times. For more information, see http://eb5worc.com/.
About Northwest Economic Council (Whatcom County)
Northwest Economic Council (Whatcom County) is the designated Associate Development Organization for Whatcom County. As part of its current focus on promoting collaboration and partnerships throughout Whatcom Country, they are partners in development with WORC. For more information, see http://www.nwecon.org/.
Last week, IIUSA hosted the post-conference reception at the AILA EB-5 CLE Conference in San Antonio, Texas. It was a successful event, raising funds and awareness for permanent authorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program.
While in town, IIUSA leadership had the welcome opportunity to meet with the Honorable Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Lamar Smith (21st , TX) at his district office.
IIUSA visits with Honorable Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Lamar Smith (21st-TX) in San Antonio
It was a productive meeting, continuing the dialogue of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Policy & Enforcement hearing in September. IIUSA thanks the Chairman for his time while we were in town, and looks forward to continued work together to make the EB-5 Regional Center Program a permanent tool of U.S. economic policy.
In their October interim report, released last week, President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness advocates EB-5:
”The administration is working to improve and leverage the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, another Council recommendation. DHS’ Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) is enhancing the program by creaging specialized review teams with business expertise, engaging re-engineering experts to streamline the process, launching a premium processing service and evaluating additional options for maximizing the program’s potential.”
The Council further recommended:
“Increasing, by a factor of at least four, the number of entrepreneurs from other countries allowed entry inot the United States, amil though expansion of the EB-5 program.”
They go on to say:
“First, we need to fully subscribe and radically expand the socalled EB-5 ‘entrepreneur’s visa’ for immigrant entrepreneurs who invest $500,000 to $1 million in a new commercial enterprise and create at least 10 full-time jobs (or preserve 10 jobs in a troubled business). If the EB-5 program reaches maximum capacity, it could result annually in the creation of approximately 4,000 new businesses $2 billion to $4 billion of foreign investment capital and create 40,000 jobs. But streamlining the application process and fully subscribing the program is just a start. Why have any cap on this kind of visa at all? Why not advertise it worldwide? Indeed, why not go further, as some have suggested, and set up a human resources offices in key countries around the world to recruit their most talented young people to come to America to realize their dreams while fueling the next generation of U.S. innovation?
Our second point is a plea: American can’t afford to let high-skilled immigration reform remain attached to the controversies that surround “comprehensive” immigration reform more broadly. As some of our members have different viewpoints on this subject, the Council recognizes the legitimate passions on all sides of this question, and understands how complex it can be for policymakers to reconcile differing vies. But given the challenges our economy now faces in a global age, we all need to rethink. how is anyone served when great immigrant talent trained at our finest institutions leaves our shores to work for the competition? If the next million jobs these men and women create could be in America, shouldn’t we peel off and pass that portion of immigration reform right now?”
It is great to see the Council sees things the way we do at IIUSA. It is time to pass S. 642 and H.R. 2972 now, separate from the comprehensive immigration debate. The EB-5 Regional Center Program is about CREATING AMERICAN JOBS AT NO COST TO THE TAXPAYER.
Towards the end of September, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Director, USCIS, spoke at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. His remarks included reference to the EB-5 Program and the agency’s efforts to improve it. IIUSA is appreciative and supportive of the Director’s efforts.
His remarks about the EB-5 Program specifically were as follows:
“We have made significant changes in the way we adjudicate cases in the immigrant investor or EB-5 program, a program that is designed to create American jobs. We have retained business analysts to support our adjudicators, and received more than 75 applications for additional economists. We will be hiring corporate expertise, issuing new policy guidance in the next few weeks. And currently we have outstanding a targeted request for proposal to re-engineer our business process from beginning to end. The EB-5s full allotment of 10,000 investor visas has never been reached. In 2008, just over 1,200 were issued and the potential remains great. This year, we will more than triple that number.”
In addition to IIUSA‘s summary of the EB-5 Meetings in DC in mid-September, I highly recommend reading the blog post of H. Ronald Klasko, IIUSA Member, and Chair of the AILA EB-5 Committee for a legal perspective of the events.
To read the full “Road to Permanent EB-5 RegCtr Program” blog series, CLICK HERE.
