Leahy Introduces Bill To Create Jobs,
Attract Foreign Investment To Vermont
WASHINGTON (Thursday, March 13, 2008) – Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
this week introduced legislation to make permanent a program that
has attracted millions of dollars in direct foreign investment and
created hundreds of new jobs for Vermont. Leahy’s legislation would
also strengthen the Regional Center pilot program at the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The Regional Center pilot program was first created in 1993 and
allows a regional governmental agency or private entity within a
state to apply to the USCIS for designation as a Regional Center.
The designation allows agencies or entities involved to attract
foreign investment to the region, bringing money and jobs into
regional economies. Through Leahy’s efforts, Vermont’s Regional
Center was established in 1997 and rechartered in 2007. Two Vermont
ski resorts have actively participated in the Regional Center pilot
program, launching ambitious development projects to draw more
tourism and business to the state, and Vermont’s Regional Center has
more investment projects in the works.
In turn, Regional Centers provide opportunities to foreign investors
to invest in new American projects, as well as an avenue to
citizenship, while adding an additional layer of screening against
immigration fraud. Foreign investors seeking legal permanent
residency through investment must pledge a minimum of $500,000 to a
targeted project within a Regional Center and independently apply
for an EB-5 visa. If approved by USCIS, foreign investors are
granted a conditional two-year green card. After two years, the
investor must provide proof that ten jobs within the region have
been created as a result of the investment and that they have met
additional investment requirements set by USCIS.
“There is no question that Vermont has benefited from the Regional
Center pilot program,” said Leahy. “I was proud to reauthorize the
Regional Center program in 2003, and this successful partnership
between American entrepreneurs and the USCIS is worth saving.
Making this program permanent would promote further long term
investment in Vermont, in our industries and in our economy. With
the country on the brink of a recession, we should be doing all we
can to increase jobs and provide additional access to capital to our
local economies.”
The Regional Center program has generated millions of dollars in
job-creating investments since its inception. There are 17 Regional
Centers across the country, including the Vermont center. In 2007
alone, investment through the Regional Centers totaled $500 million
with the creation of 10,000 new American jobs, and USCIS officials
have estimated that direct investment through the program will
double in 2008.
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Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy
On The Introduction Of The State Foreign Investment Improvement Act
Senate Floor
March 12, 2008
Today, I am introducing legislation to strengthen and make permanent
the Regional Center pilot program at the U.S Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS). I am pleased that Senator Specter
has joined me in this effort, and I commend him for his recognition
of this program’s importance. The Regional Center program has had
tremendous success in creating American jobs and infusing investment
capital into many economically challenged areas across the country,
and I urge all Senators to join us in building upon this success.
The Regional Center pilot program was created in 1993 by the
Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act. In 2003, I worked to
reauthorize the program for an additional five years as part of the
Basic Pilot Program Extension and Expansion Act. The Regional
Center pilot program is set to expire in September of 2008. Should
Congress fail to act before then, millions of dollars in capital and
thousands of potential American jobs will be forfeited. The
legislation I introduce today would make this pilot program
permanent, and would make other important changes to strengthen its
solid foundation.
The Regional Center program allows a regional governmental agency or
private enterprise within a State to apply for designation as a
Regional Center through USCIS. This designation allows the
enterprise to recruit foreign investors to a discrete project or
projects, and provides USCIS with an additional layer of screening
against immigration fraud. The process for a foreign citizen to
gain legal permanent residence through the Regional Center program
is a rigorous one. Prior to applying to invest in a Regional
Center, a foreign investor must pledge a minimum of $500,000 and
independently apply for an EB-5 visa through USCIS, which solely
determines the potential investor’s eligibility for a visa. If
approved, the investor is given a two-year conditional green card.
At the end of the conditional period and in order to continue legal
residence in the United States, the investor must demonstrate that
his or her investment created a minimum of ten jobs within the
Regional Center, and that his or her investment was fully obligated
to the targeted project.
This program’s continuation promises a bright future for job
creation and capital investment in participating communities. The
Regional Center program has resulted in millions of dollars of
direct investment and the creation of thousands of jobs in the
United States. Moreover, foreign investment serves to attract
additional domestic private sector capital, further increasing the
program’s beneficial economic effects. There are 17 Regional
Centers across the country—and several more with pending
applications—which manage investments in a diverse range of projects
from energy production to resort development. Making this
successful program permanent will provide significant economic
benefits to participating States at no cost to the taxpayer.
My home State of Vermont has benefited tremendously from this
program, with foreign investments committed to local projects
ranging in the millions of dollars. As a result of these ongoing
developments, many new jobs are being created for Vermont’s
residents. For example, two of Vermont’s premier ski resorts are
active participants in this program, and have been successful in
attracting foreign investment to help make ambitious development
projects a reality. In a rural State like Vermont, which depends
heavily on tourism and its natural resources, the Regional Center
program has been instrumental in supporting projects that take
advantage of Vermont’s natural resources and beauty, and its outdoor
recreation opportunities.
In addition to making the Regional Center program permanent, the
bill also makes a number of other improvements to ensure its
efficiency and to accommodate expected expansion. The bill provides
a premium processing option for potential investors, allowing
expedited processing for an additional fee to USCIS, as well as
concurrent processing of a potential investor’s application for
designation as an immigrant investor and his or her adjustment of
status application to obtain conditional permanent residency.
Finally, the bill creates a $2500 fee for those domestic entities
applying for Regional Center status, and directs USCIS to re-invest
this additional revenue back into the Regional Center program to
allow the agency to accommodate future growth in the program.
Because the pilot program is set to expire in 2008, potential
investors are feeling a chill stemming from uncertainty about the
Regional Center Program’s future. Permanently authorizing this
program will create certainty and predictability for potential
investors interested in the numerous projects currently in
development across the country. This non-controversial program has
enjoyed broad bipartisan support, and I strongly believe that we
would do well to increase American job creation and capital
investment by matching American ingenuity with the desire of those
who seek not only to invest in the United States, but who seek to
share in our country’s promise as eventual citizens.
In a time of severe economic turbulence, and in an era where
Americans are witnessing the outsourcing of too many good jobs
overseas, this bill builds upon a proven record of success and
encourages investment and job creation in the States and local
communities of our nation.
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