Welcome To America

Mr. Tamer Awad, CEO of Prosper America, helps affluent investors to acquire American citizenship for themselves and their families through the US investor immigration program EB-5.

Can you explain how your business model and services work for investors?
The U.S. has a highly sought after immigration option aimed at attracting investors called the EB-5. The program requires the investment of $500,000 in a government-approved project managed by a government-approved entity known as a regional center. A green card is awarded for the investor’s entire family around a year and a half after an application is made.
 
What is attracting Middle Eastern investors to America in particular?
We attribute it to many factors. Aside from the appeal of the “American dream”, some places in the Middle East are facing challenges and geopolitical uncertainty, so people are exploring other options to provide their families with a stable future. Also the EB-5 is a straightforward program. The only requirement is that you must be able to prove that your investment funds are acquired from legal and legitimate sources.
 
How has business grown? How many clients do you help annually?
The Middle East is still learning about the EB-5 Program, but the growth in demand has been exponential. We have had around 30 investors over the last year and we are expecting this number to double in 2017. It is worth noting that this program is in high demand in China, with approximately 9,000 investors per year. Since the US government imposed a cap and a waiting list for new investors from China, the natural progression is to spread to other attractive markets such as the Middle East.
 
How do you select an investment option for the EB-5 clients?
When it comes to choosing an approved EB-5 investment project, we apply strict parameters that only the best companies can obtain. We only offer investors projects with high and provable economic value. The investment company offering the project has to have a proven track record of approvals and timely capital return. Also the project has to be in real estate so that we can ensure the preservation of capital and security of the investment. One of our partners is M&D Regional Center, a U.S. government-approved regional center under the EB-5 Program, and a market leader with more than 800 green cards awarded to investors and several successfully funded EB-5 projects behind them.
 
What are the challenges involved in obtaining green cards specifically for Arab clients?
There are two major challenges for this program for Arab clients. First would be the residency time required to maintain the green card. All of our clients are affluent and successful, so leaving their work in the Middle East to move to the U.S. is out of the question. Luckily they only have to travel to the U.S. twice a year to maintain the green card. We also help our clients send their children to study in the US, this way the children can get US citizenship in a considerably shorter time period than their parents. Not to mention the saving in school and university tuition that can more than cover the cost of the program.
 
The second challenge is taxes—this subject is widely misunderstood. The amount of wealth the investor has is not taxable, however the income they acquire after becoming a green card holder is. The U.S. tax code also has many deductions and provisions that can favor people with high incomes. With the right tax planning, the investors can minimize their U.S. tax obligations. This is a service that we also provide. There are other strategies that we use to delay the taxable status for the income earner of the family until they are ready to do so. This is an issue that needs to be discussed on a case-by-case basis and it depends on the individual’s income level and future plans.
 
Are you concerned about the potential impact on your business of a new president after November 2016?
Despite the political rhetoric of this election, we are not significantly concerned about the impact of the new president on our Middle East immigrants. The U.S. is a country of laws and institutions, so no president can radically change the country. The U.S. has series of checks and balances built into the system of government. This is what makes the U.S. one of the most stable democracies in the world and this stability continues to be the main attraction of investment and immigration.

http://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/en/news/read/2016/welcome-to-america/articleid/11105

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