U
nited States’ Senator Ted Cruz, keynote speaker at the
2017 San Francisco EB-5 & Investment Immigration
Convention in Francisco, was met with standing ovations
as he declared his support for the positive impact of the
EB-5 program on the U.S. economy. "We are a blessing
of a nation with people from all over the world who
desperately wants to be here and that’s a tremendous
strength we have here," said Cruz, a former presidential
candidate. "It’s an ability of us to attract people who can
drive jobs and economic prosperity. The idea behind the
EB5 program was to link capital to create jobs, ideally in
low employment areas so you have more opportunity for
people who are struggling and to raise capital there. I think
that idea makes an awful lot of sense."
About 700 EB-5 professionals attended the two-day
conference at the elegant Westin St. Francis in the heart
of San Francisco on July 27-28. With the backing of more
than 75 sponsors, the successful event by EB5 Investors
Magazine featured 94 distinguished speakers in a variety
of interactive and educational panels.
The convention -- which attracted a mix of immigration
and securities attorneys, regional centers, migration
agents, developers, broker-dealers and other EB-5 program
stakeholders – kicked off with moderated seminars in
three tracks of agent due diligence, EB-5 attorney and
EB-5 financing workshops. The evening culminated with
an exclusive VIP cocktail reception on the 39th floor of
the luxurious hotel with views stretching from the Golden
Gate bridge to Fisherman’s Wharf. Guests included former
USCIS director Leon Rodriquez and former California State
Assembly man Willie Lewis Brown, Jr.
Breakfast speaker Todd Rufo, Director of the San Francisco
office of Economic and Workforce Development, kicked
off the second day, which had 43 exhibitors showcasing
their services in an EB-5 industry expo while a dozen
educational panels covered topics such as the EB-5
legislative reform, India as the new EB-5 frontier, capital
redeployment and source of funds issues. Throughout
the event, attendees were able to network to build new
partnerships and strengthen their overseas and industry
networks during scheduled breaks. Many powerful
introductions and connections were made for participants
to expand their businesses.
The conference, which aimed to add transparency and
increase EB-5 education for both industry veterans
and new entrepreneurs, was praised by many of its
participants. "The San Francisco EB-5 & Investment
Immigration Convention was top notch both for
experienced and newcomers," said Bernard Wolfsdorf,
Managing partner at Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP and
Past President of the American Immigration Lawyers
Association. "Not only were we able to share cutting
edge information and knowledge, but all the key players
were there for networking purposes." Robert Divine, Head
159 EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE