ensuring each professional working on these offerings
is properly trained to ultimately protect EB-5 investors.
Marketing your EB-5 projects within the U.S. through a BD
will help ensure all aspects of the transaction, starting with
solicitation and subscription through funding of the project
area in compliance with U.S. securities laws.
The regulatory and compliance risk of the issuer is substantially
mitigated and transitioned to the BD. This adds another
layer of protection for EB-5 investors, thus increasing project
marketability and opening emerging markets that are relatively
untapped. It also ensures projects are funded quicker and in
compliance with U.S. securities laws.
WHO ARE WE MARKETING TO?
The Trump administration has been very palpable in letting
its views be known with regards to immigration in general.
Politicians in Washington have taken actionable steps to
restrict immigration to the U.S. via issuing an executive order
on April 18, 2017, to “Buy American and Hire American.”
This has significantly restricted H-1B access, highlighted by
the significant reduction in approval rates, from 87 percent in
2016 to 57 percent in 2017. It is now more difficult to obtain
the popular H-1B employment-based visa, and this trend looks
set to continue in the same vein for 2018. Millions of foreign
students in the U.S. on F-1 visas realize the steep challenges
in obtaining the H-1B visa, including an employer’s reluctance
to sponsor foreign individuals.
This is due to the time, expense and poor approval odds at
hand, which suggests foreign students in the U.S. mainly
have two other reasonable options to remain in the U.S: either
marry an American citizen or file an adjustment of status via
an EB-5 application. This is potentially a huge market that
has not been tapped effectively in the industry but can be via
partnering with the correct BD firm.
In particular, there are approximately 750,000 Indians on
H-1B visas in the U.S. who are stuck in EB-2 or EB-3 backlogs,
waiting for their respective green cards. The AC21 rule allows
H-1B holders to extend their status past the H-1B six-year limit.
However, the Trump administration is taking steps to eliminate
the AC21 rule, which would cause these 750,000 Indians on
the H-1B visa and anybody else who has reached their six-year
limit to return home, which would be disastrous. 1 Conjointly,
families on extended vacations in cities are prime prospects
to received EB-5 project marketing via planned seminars and
other means.
These could also be more aggressively marketed through a
506-C offering, which allows for direct general solicitation
via traditional and emerging advertising means. An attractive
proposition about prospective onshore EB-5 investors is
generally that most, if not all, of their funds are within the U.S.,
virtually eliminating the difficulties/restrictions on exporting
capital that is experienced for investors from certain countries
such as China and Vietnam. This would streamline and make
the EB-5 process more efficient in funding projects and
working through the source of funds documents.
Overall, the millions of foreign students in the U.S. wanting to
stay beyond their post graduation one-year Optional Practical
Training (OPT) visa, the difficulties/poor approval odds noted
above in obtaining the H-1B visa, the reluctance of American
employers to sponsor foreign candidates for the H-1B visa,
the challenges in converting your H-1B visa into a green card
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