EB-5 program grant approved, again

The Center for Economic Growth has been approved—again—for a $125,000 state grant to help finance the creation of an EB-5 center in the Albany, NY area. Under the federal EB-5 program, foreign nationals may receive a permanent green card if they invest at least $500,000 in a company or development project that will create at least 10 jobs in a rural or distressed area. Projects must be designated in advance. In 2011, the CEG asked Empire State Development, New York’s economic development agency, for $125,000 under the state’s Consolidated Funding Application process. It needed to pay consultants and attorneys to prepare an application for EB-5 certification from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The certification application is pending with the federal government, with a response expected this fall. Michael Tucker, president of the CEG, said that what the organization received through the CFA process was a letter of intent. It needed to progress in its mission in order to receive final grant approval. That happened on Sept. 19. But it still does not have the money in hand. “The application must be improved by the federal government first,” Tucker said. Barbara Pinckney September 20, 2013 http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/blog/2013/09/eb-5-program-grant-approved-again.html