South Dakota Governor Lauds Construction at Beef Processing Plant

South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds says the resumption of construction at a multimillion-dollar beef processing plant near Aberdeen could have positive effects on the state as a whole, the Daily Republic reports.

The governor said that the announcement that construction on the $70 million plant will resume is important as the owners of the facility expect it to process 390,000 head of cattle each year.

"That’s a lot of beef and a lot of prosperity for South Dakota cattle producers, the people who will be working here and all of the people here in our state,” said Rounds, who will leave office next month because of term limits. “It means South Dakota cattle producers will now have an in-state processing plant."

Part of the funding for the project is reportedly coming from Asian investors who are participating in the federal EB-5 visa program, the news source said. Through this program, foreign nationals can obtain U.S. green card eligibility if they make an investment of $1 million (or $500,000 in some areas) in an American company or project that creates or maintains at least 10 full-time jobs.

Governor Rounds said that the EB-5 visa program would provide an additional $50 million in financing from the foreign investors.

EB-5 Visa Program Brings Growth to Metro Detroit

The federal EB-5 visa program has given investors from South Korea and China incentive to bring jobs and economic growth to the metro Detroit area, Crain's Detroit Business reports.

One example of the investments made through the program occurred in October at electric powertrain manufacturer Alte LLC, which is based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, according to the news source.
"The world is indeed flat," said John Thomas, CEO of Alte. "Foreign investors aware of these opportunities are pursuing them for the return on investment they're seeing in companies like ours."

Through the EB-5 visa program, foreigners can obtain U.S. green card eligibility through an investment of $1 million (or $500,000 in some areas) in an American project that either creates or maintains 10 full-time jobs.

The Green Detroit EB-5 Regional Center is one of four approved U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services centers in Michigan and there are approximately 140 such regional centers throughout the country.

In Michigan, the EB-5 authorized counties include Wayne, Livingston, Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland and St. Clair.

Controversial Arizona Immigration Law Goes Unenforced

Although Arizona's new immigration law, Senate Bill 1070, has sparked a great deal of controversy during the three months it has been in effect, its real-world applications have not matched the rhetoric raised by both its supporters and detractors.

According to the Arizona Republic, no arrests have been made under the new law, nor have any citations been issued. Additionally, no Arizona citizens have filed suit against the state for not enforcing immigration statutes to the fullest extent permissible under federal law, an action made possible under SB 1070.

The most likely root cause of this apparent lack of arrests and citations comes from the recent decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton to block some of the provisions of SB 1070 from coming into effect, reports the news source.

Mike Tellef, spokesman for the Peoria, Arizona Police Department, told the news source that the department would not enforce SB 1070 until the issue had been settled by the courts.

Similarly, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever reported that the court's blockage of part of the new law rendered all parts of the law "moot".

Regardless of what happens in Arizona, foreign nationals can still earn green card eligibility through the EB-5 visa program, which awards eligibility to those whose $1 million ($500,000 in certain regions) investments in American companies result in the creation or preservation of 10 jobs.

New York Developer Considers EB-5 for $4.9 Billion Project

A New York City developer is considering funding a $4.9 billion development with help from the EB-5 visa program.

Bruce Ratner is hoping to obtain $250 million in foreign investment through the EB-5 visa program, which would make one of the largest amounts obtained through the program, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Atlantic Yards project that Ratner and his company, Forest City Ratner, are hoping to fund would include a basketball arena, retail space and thousands of apartments.

The EB-5 visa program was created to help attract foreign capital to American businesses. If a foreign national invests $1 million (or in specially designated areas, $500,000) and that investment leads to the creation or preservation of 10 jobs, the investor becomes eligible for a U.S. green card.

The central component of the Atlantic Yards project is the $900 million basketball arena that will be used to attract the NBA's New Jersey Nets to New York City.

The news source reports that the EB-5 visa program is not often used in New York but this spring the Brooklyn Navy Yard sought to gain $125 million in funding through it.

In fact, the Brooklyn Navy Yard project has been so successful that New York City officials encourage Ratner to utilize it for his project, although he has not yet secured the go-ahead from the federal government.

MaryAnne Gilmartin, an executive vice president at Forest City, said that the company paid attention to the progress of the Brooklyn Navy Yard project.

"When we watched that we realized it was something worth our energy," she told the news source.

Gilmartin said that the funds obtained through the EB-5 visa program would likely be used for the construction of a new rail yard for the Long Island Rail Road to replace the old one. In addition, she said that EB-5 funds may also be utilized to pay off land loans for the project.

Ratner is planning a trip to China next month to solicit investment in the Atlantic Yards project.

China provides the EB-5 visa program with a large percentage of its participants. In fiscal 2009, China accounted for 1,979 of the 4,218 U.S. green cards issued through the program, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.

Finding the Right EB-5 Consultant is Vital

There are lots of decisions that foreign nationals looking into the EB-5 visa program need to make: where to invest, what industry to invest in and whether to invest with an EB-5 regional center are just some of the many questions that potential investors need to answer. However, there is one question that can make answering all subsequent questions much simpler: what EB-5 consultant should one choose.

While there are a number of excellent EB-5 consulting services out there, there are few, if any, that compare to Exclusive Visas, which is an independent firm.

The EB-5 visa program has experienced a boom since the recent recession dried up a great deal of lending capital, causing many to hitch their wagons to EB-5. However, Exclusive Visas began in 2007, before the program became as popular as it is today. During its existence the EB-5 consulting firm has met with more than 100 families interested in participating in the EB-5 visa program, so Exclusive Visas has experience with a great deal of unique situations and sets of circumstances.

This experience has allowed Exclusive Visas to acquire the knowledge and foresight that is essential in identifying EB-5 investment opportunities for its clients as well as helping them through the entire immigration process.

In fact, Exclusive Visas’ experience is so highly regarded that its staff has been asked by a number of prominent politicians to accompany them when they travel abroad to promote the EB-5 visa program. These trips included a visit to Ireland with Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy and then U.S. Ambassador Tom Foley and a journey to Korea and China with Vermont Governor Jim Douglas. In addition, Exclusive Visas has worked with Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz to help promote local interest in the EB-5 visa program

Experience alone is not what distinguishes Exclusive Visas from other services. The staff also possesses a range and breadth of technical knowledge. Exclusive Visas employs attorneys, certified public accountants, economists, financial specialists and many other learned professionals who are experts in how their fields relate to the EB-5 visa program.

Exclusive Visas staff has met with officials from more than 25 EB-5 regional centers throughout the country, which represents more than one-quarter of America’s regional centers. In addition, the EB-5 consulting service has referred investors to 12 EB-5 regional centers this year alone.

As with an EB-5 investment opportunity, selecting the right EB-5 consulting firm is vital for those who participate in the EB-5 visa program.

What does the StartUp Visa Act mean for investor visa legislation?

Entering 2010, healthcare and financial regulatory reform, job creation, and immigration were among the top priority legislative issues before Congress. With the controversial healthcare reform bill finally passed through both houses, and President Obama intent on approving a financial reform in the next two months, lawmakers will doubtless continue turning their attention on the remain pressing issues.

Since the EB-5 visa program combines both job creation and immigration measures, the federal initiative, and similar investor visas have received much attention lately from members of Congress.

Currently, the EB-5 visa program offers foreign nationals a quicker route to attaining U.S. residency in exchange for an investment of at least $500,000 in a U.S. business. The idea behind the initiative was that the country could leverage a high demand for immigration into the U.S. to attain capital that could stimulate local economies.

Initially, lawmakers took notice of how the recession and seemed to create an economic climate in which more U.S. companies were open to foreign investment.

While the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that runs the visa program, has always reserved 10,000 visas for EB-5 status immigrants, the number of approved EB-5 visas nearly tripled between fiscal years 2008 and 2009, according to the State Department.

While job creation remains a top domestic issue, more Congress members have thrown their support to measures that look to expand the EB-5 visa program by offering some of the 10,000 available visas to foreign nationals who might create jobs by starting their own companies.

Recent reports have indicated that highly performing start-up companies are responsible for a disproportionally large amount of job creation.

Taking this trend into account, Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado penned a proposal in the House of Representatives that extended eligibility for an investor visa to foreign entrepreneurs whose business plan attracts either $250,000 from a U.S.-based venture capital company or $100,000 from another investor, according to the American Visa Bureau.

Since then, Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana introduced similar legislation in the Senate, dubbed the Startup Visa Act of 2010.

As many lawmakers, economists and immigration attorneys continue to laud the job creation potential of such legislation, it seems that an EB-6 status immigration category could soon appear. Meanwhile EB-5 regional centers across the country continue to benefit from investments from immigrants looking for a way into the U.S.

EB-5 Investors are Different than Domestic Ones

One of the main differences that distinguish EB-5 regional centers from regular businesses that handle investments is their interaction with foreign nationals.

Participants in the EB-5 visa program can become eligible for their U.S. green card by investing $1 million in an American business or project. If the investment produces 10 new jobs, the investor becomes green card eligible.

Ben Cummings is a partner at the BirchLEAF 31 Miami Regional Center, which is currently working with a development company to erect the first building at the University of Miami Life Science and Technology Park.

Cummings understands that participants in the EB-5 visa program have understandably different goals from typical, domestic investors.

"Essentially, the foreign investors have the primary goal of receiving their permanent resident visas; a secondary goal of having made a secure investment in which their capital will be returned to them in approximately 5 years; and a third and less important goal of receiving a reasonable return on their investment during the 5 year period," he said.

These goals contrast with those of American investors.

"Domestic investors generally seek a higher return on their investment as their primary goal," said Cummings.

Green Card Becomes Green

For years the document issued to lawful permanent residents in the United States has been called a green card, but that never referred to its color. In fact, over the years the U.S. green card has been pink, blue, white and beige but never green.

This will all change with the introduction of a new design for the green card that was recently announced by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In addition to actually being green, the cards will feature laser engraved fingerprints, holographic images and radio frequency identification chips, which will allow Customs and Border Protection officials to read the cards at a distance, according to the New York Times.

The cards were designed by LaserCard to be as technologically advanced as possible.

"We worked closely with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to develop the most physically secure and counterfeit-resistant identification credentials available today," said Bob DeVincenzi, president and chief executive officer of LaserCard.

Foreign nationals who participate in the EB-5 visa program will hope to earn such a card. They can accomplish this by investing $1 million in a U.S. business and if that investment produces or preserves 10 new jobs, the investor become eligible for their (ultra-advanced) EB-5 green card.

What is the EB-5 Visa?

Thousands of businesses in the U.S. are attempting to advance in their industries, economically depressed regions are desperately trying to create jobs for their unemployed residents, and yet - outside the country - affluent foreign nationals are looking for a way to become U.S. residents.

The EB-5 visa program, a federal initiative run by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), essentially allows each of these parties to meet their goals through cooperation.

The EB-5 visa program is an immigration project that gives foreign investors the chance to attain a U.S. green card in exchange for a high-priced investment in an American company.

Each year, the USCIS sets aside 10,000 visas for EB-5 status immigrants who are looking to establish a permanent residence in the U.S.

Congress created the EB-5 pilot program in 1993 to encourage foreign investment in the U.S. economy, and has extended the program at every chance, most recently extending it until 2010 with a bipartisan vote.

Though the program went largely unnoticed for about 15 years, its popularity has been rapidly growing, as dictated by economic conditions in the U.S. and a consistent demand for U.S. green cards.

According to the State Department, the number of immigrants, including the family members of investors, who obtained EB-5 visas jumped from 1,443 in fiscal year 2008 to 4,218 in fiscal year 2009. Additionally, over the past year, the number of EB-5 visa program regional centers - enterprises certified by the USCIS to receive EB-5 investments, has grown from about 20 to 82.

Putting the increased appetite for EB-5 investment opportunities simply, immigration attorney H. Ronald Klasko told Law.com that the EB-5 visa program was "the hottest thing going on right now in immigration."

To qualify for an EB-5 visa, prospective immigrants must invest at least $1 million - or $500,000 in areas with particularly high unemployment rate - in a U.S company and create at least 10 jobs by way of their financing.

After an EB-5 application is approved, the investor and his or her immediate family members are given a two-year conditional residency visa, while the initial investment takes effect.

After two years, a successful follow-up application that shows the investment has created as least 10 jobs must be filed. If accepted, all family members are given a U.S. green card and can enjoy the perks of full U.S. residency.