EB5 Investors Magazine English Edition Volume 6, Issue 2 | Page 20

Brazilian EB-5 Investor En Route to New Life in the United States Andre Oliver, who recently graduated with an MBA from a California University, did his own due diligence and advises others to do the same. By Bradley Zint, EB5 Investors Magazine Staff F or Brazil native Andre Oliver, he says his early years spent in America were among the best in his life. He attended high school as a foreign exchange student in South Carolina and later lived in Hawaii, chasing the waves. He enjoyed a taste of the American Dream. So, years later when the 4 3 - year- old learned about the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, it came as no surprise that he saw it as a way to stay in the United States permanently this time around. In 2014, his family sold an industrial construc tion business they had star ted back in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Oliver later worked as a commercial director for another company before going into a wealth management venture with his father. H e thoug h t bac k on his time in the U ni te d S tates , where he played basketball and soccer for his high school. He decided he wanted to go back to the land of the free and continue his education with a master’s degree. “I appreciate the United States a lot,” Oliver said. “It was a big part of me.” 20 EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE I n 2 0 16 , h e a p p l i e d t o a M a s t e r o f B u s i n e s s Administration program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. It was a mid - career executive program, accelerated for one year of study. He recently graduated with his MBA and is now looking for jobs. During his studies at USC, Oliver was motivated to apply for EB-5 after a friend had done it. He set himself to learn all about it, reading, by his own estimation, 400 pages on the program. He did his own due diligence. “If I really focus on something, I know how to structure a problem in order to solve it,” he said. “I’m not afraid to study and take the time it takes.” Based on his research , Oliver decided to make his investment through CanAm Enterprises, a New York- base d re g io nal c e n te r. H is m o n ey is p oise d to g o toward The Spiral, a sk yscraper office tower under construction in Manhat tan. He filed his I -529 in S e p te m b e r. G e t ting to that p oin t , O live r admi t te d , wasn’t easy. “There were too many projects,” he said.