In past years, the North Dakota/Minnesota EB-5 Regional Center has focused the majority of its international activities on the Chinese market. With a visa backlog taking affect for all Mainland Chinese born citizens, the North Dakota/Minnesota EB-5 Regional Center has begun exploring additional international markets. Many British individuals are interested in purchasing vacation homes and retiring in the U.S., however, most of these individuals did not realize the travel restrictions when visiting the U.S. on a travel visa. As a result, a recent trend has begun where British citizens interested in purchasing property in the U.S. are also seeking dual citizenship.
The North Dakota/Minnesota EB-5 Regional Center recently attended the Property Investor and Homebuyer Show at the Excel event center in London, England on October 9 & 10. The show featured 120 exhibitors from countries including Dubai, the U.S., Malaysia, Nigeria, Portugal, France and India, as well as exhibitors from all over Great Britain. The investor show offers high net worth individuals a variety of investment opportunities from around the world. The event is put on twice per year, once in the spring and once in the fall. According to organizers attendance was up 15% from last year.
While several EB-5 regional centers attended the show, the North Dakota/Minnesota EB-5 Regional Center was the only one asked to present. On Friday and Saturday, Director Mickayla Zinsli gave a presentation on the EB-5 program, as well as what sets the North Dakota/Minnesota EB-5 Regional Center apart from other regional centers. Ms. Zinsli’s presentations garnered significant interest from over 100 potential investors interested in investing in North Dakota projects.
About the North Dakota/Minnesota EB-5 Regional Center:
The North Dakota/Minnesota EB-5 Regional Center received its designation in April 2011 and remains the only non-profit, university affiliated regional center in the country. To date nearly $140M in EB-5 has been invested into the region through the North Dakota/Minnesota EB-5 Regional Center, serving a variety of different industry sectors, and creating thousands of U.S. jobs. The North Dakota/Minnesota EB-5 Regional Center is headquartered at the UND Center for Innovation in Grand Forks, North Dakota with offices in Rochester, Minnesota and Shanghai, China.
About the EB-5 Program:
The EB-5 visa program was created in 1990 by Congress and provides U.S. based companies access to foreign investment. The EB-5 visa program is designed to stimulate economic development, create jobs, and improve regional productivity through direct foreign investment in $500K or $1M increments, while providing eligible foreign investors an opportunity to become permanent U.S. residents.