2016 Ho Chi Minh EB-5
Delegation Recap
Over 250 business immigration professionals attended the 2016 Ho Chi Minh EB-5 Delegation, hosted by EB5
Investors Magazine on March 26-28 at the beautiful Park Hyatt Saigon. A select group of U.S. EB-5 program
stakeholders and migration agencies made up the delegation, and participants enjoyed exclusive access to a
special video message from U.S. Rep. Jared Polis on current EB-5 program discussions on Capitol Hill.
The delegation’s attendees included migration agents,
sub-agents and potential investors, joining 60 U.S.-based EB-5
professionals and representatives from 13 EB-5 projects.
The following participant testimonial was offered by EB-5
attorney Phuong Le of law firm David Hirson & Partners, LLP,
capturing his firm’s experience at the event:
“Over the course of two thoughtfully-planned days at the
Park Hyatt Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City, four members of our
firm joined a select group of speakers including regional centers,
projects, and securities attorneys to share our perspectives and
discuss relevant, timely issues with Vietnam’s immigration
community. In addition to providing updates on the state of
the EB-5 program and regional center/project presentations, the
panels also covered information to help an investor transition his
family to the United States, such as the education system and tax
planning. Panels were often full, and on more than one occasion
ran late when Q&A sessions revealed an engaged audience that
had thoroughly absorbed the information.
Despite the demand for tickets, the Delegation limited the
number of attendees to focus on quality of discussion rather
than quantity of attendees. This allowed us to focus on meeting
and building relationships with the people we met instead
of simply adding a few more inches of business cards to our
Rolodex. We sat next to investors and discussed their questions
as we attended panels together, met with past and current
clients as they visited our booths, and made plans to meet with
folks later that week. The connections we made during the
Delegation ultimately helped shaped our Vietnam trip as we
traveled through the country. We enjoyed getting to know the
migration agents and their staff in Ho Chi Minh City, counseling Vietnamese businesses and executives with their L-1/EB-1C
matters in Hanoi, and the dinner meetings where we were fed
(too well) in Da Nang.
Ultimately, the Delegation was successful because it provided
a two-way forum to share and exchange knowledge. Perhaps
the most important panel was migration agents sharing their
perspectives on understanding the cultural differences for
investors in each region. The agents shed light on what our firm’s
own experience has confirmed: the importance of understanding
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