Shopping the EB-5 Supermarket

NEW YORK CITY-As access to traditional forms of capital continues to tighten, an often underlooked source of funding can help foreign investors establish themselves in the US while benefiting the American economy: the federal EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Panelists discussed “The Art of the EB-5 Real Estate Transaction” at a conference hosted by Akerman Senterfitt in conjunction with the Urban Land Institute and the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate on Monday morning at the Cornell Club in Midtown Manhattan.

The history of the EB-5 program goes back to the early 1990s, when Congress passed the law as part of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990. The original program allowed foreign investors to secure a preferred visa category status by providing funding to a business that benefits the US economy or saves at least 10 full-time jobs for American workers, explained Steven Polivy, chair of economic development and incentives practice at Akerman Senterfitt.