tamtagon
28 November 2009, 12:25 PM
I tried to find a website for the new City of Dallas Regional Center, but did not locate it in a brief search. This DMN article gives a pretty good overview of what's up with that:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/112809dnmetcdrc.3ba5056.html
City of Dallas Regional Center program trades green cards for development capital
10:37 PM CST on Friday, November 27, 2009
By RUDOLPH BUSH / The Dallas Morning News
rbush@dallasnews.com
...
The program – known as the City of Dallas Regional Center – is a citywide adoption of a federal immigration program that trades green cards and the promise of permanent residency for investments of $500,000 or $1 million.
According to [council member Ron] Natinsky, hundreds of investors – particularly from China but also from Mexico, South America and elsewhere – are lining up for the chance to get in.
"These are not people who are scraping together $500,000 or $1 million. These are people who have a high level of net worth," he said.
...
The investment program is complex and governed by strict federal immigration and customs rules that determine who gets in and who's kept out. The process of clearing investors can take months.
Under the program's rules, investors who put up $1 million can invest anywhere in Dallas. Investors who put up $500,000 must invest in areas where unemployment is 50 percent higher than the national average.
And every investor's contribution must create at least 10 permanent jobs. So if 10 investors put up $10 million, their project has to directly or indirectly result in 100 new jobs.
In return, that money would be available to developers here at interest rates well below market – something that can make the difference between a project being viable or not.
...
[Alex Lin, a Shanghai semiconductor investor] said he has spoken to other Shanghai businessmen who also are interested – in part because they see an opportunity, but also because they want residency in the United States.
...
At this point, the city has about a dozen projects it is shopping to investors. Officials declined to provide specifics about what the projects are.
...
AT A GLANCE: CITY OF DALLAS REGIONAL CENTER
PURPOSE: By adopting this federal immigration program, City Hall hopes to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign investment to Dallas.
HOW IT WORKS: The program offers green cards to foreign investors who qualify in exchange for foreign investments of $500,000 (in areas of high unemployment) or $1 million (for locations anywhere in Dallas). Each investment must create at least 10 permanent jobs.
WHAT INVESTORS GET: Access to green cards and the chance to pool funds in development projects across Dallas in a program that is backed by the city and independently underwritten.
WHAT DEVELOPERS GET: Access to capital at below-market interest rates.
WHAT THE CITY GETS: A pool of money that can be used to target difficult investment areas such as downtown and southern Dallas.
I think it's really crappy that political wisdom in this country has become so twisted to allow green cards and the promise of permanent residency to be put up for bid.
This Observer blog gives a little of the history behind the existence of "Regional Centers":
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/10/if_nothing_else_city_council_m.php
If Nothing Else, City Council Members Now Have One More Reason to Travel Abroad
By Robert Wilonsky Oct. 7 2009 @ 8:29AM
The city council's Economic Development Committee was first briefed on the subject one year ago: "Attracting Foreign Investment as Part of Dallas' Economic Growth Strategy: The EB-5 Program." Long story short: Per the Immigration Act of 1990, foreign investors who sink at least $1 million into U.S. soil and create at least 10 full-time jobs (for U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents) get two-year green cards that will lead, most likely, to permanent residency. In '93, the government allowed for the creation of "regional centers," which would more or less look over the shoulders of investors on behalf of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which oversee the whole shebang.
....
Looks like Dallas City Hall is doing an excellent job to market the city and area to the rest of the world. I'd like to see this initiative expanded to build stronger Texas ties with countries that buy a lot of American exports. Dallas politicians should pair with Houston politicians to increase the volume of American exports embarking from Texas. I think it's just as important to seek bigger and better trade relationships with European Counties as those in Asian.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/112809dnmetcdrc.3ba5056.html
City of Dallas Regional Center program trades green cards for development capital
10:37 PM CST on Friday, November 27, 2009
By RUDOLPH BUSH / The Dallas Morning News
rbush@dallasnews.com
...
The program – known as the City of Dallas Regional Center – is a citywide adoption of a federal immigration program that trades green cards and the promise of permanent residency for investments of $500,000 or $1 million.
According to [council member Ron] Natinsky, hundreds of investors – particularly from China but also from Mexico, South America and elsewhere – are lining up for the chance to get in.
"These are not people who are scraping together $500,000 or $1 million. These are people who have a high level of net worth," he said.
...
The investment program is complex and governed by strict federal immigration and customs rules that determine who gets in and who's kept out. The process of clearing investors can take months.
Under the program's rules, investors who put up $1 million can invest anywhere in Dallas. Investors who put up $500,000 must invest in areas where unemployment is 50 percent higher than the national average.
And every investor's contribution must create at least 10 permanent jobs. So if 10 investors put up $10 million, their project has to directly or indirectly result in 100 new jobs.
In return, that money would be available to developers here at interest rates well below market – something that can make the difference between a project being viable or not.
...
[Alex Lin, a Shanghai semiconductor investor] said he has spoken to other Shanghai businessmen who also are interested – in part because they see an opportunity, but also because they want residency in the United States.
...
At this point, the city has about a dozen projects it is shopping to investors. Officials declined to provide specifics about what the projects are.
...
AT A GLANCE: CITY OF DALLAS REGIONAL CENTER
PURPOSE: By adopting this federal immigration program, City Hall hopes to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign investment to Dallas.
HOW IT WORKS: The program offers green cards to foreign investors who qualify in exchange for foreign investments of $500,000 (in areas of high unemployment) or $1 million (for locations anywhere in Dallas). Each investment must create at least 10 permanent jobs.
WHAT INVESTORS GET: Access to green cards and the chance to pool funds in development projects across Dallas in a program that is backed by the city and independently underwritten.
WHAT DEVELOPERS GET: Access to capital at below-market interest rates.
WHAT THE CITY GETS: A pool of money that can be used to target difficult investment areas such as downtown and southern Dallas.
I think it's really crappy that political wisdom in this country has become so twisted to allow green cards and the promise of permanent residency to be put up for bid.
This Observer blog gives a little of the history behind the existence of "Regional Centers":
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/10/if_nothing_else_city_council_m.php
If Nothing Else, City Council Members Now Have One More Reason to Travel Abroad
By Robert Wilonsky Oct. 7 2009 @ 8:29AM
The city council's Economic Development Committee was first briefed on the subject one year ago: "Attracting Foreign Investment as Part of Dallas' Economic Growth Strategy: The EB-5 Program." Long story short: Per the Immigration Act of 1990, foreign investors who sink at least $1 million into U.S. soil and create at least 10 full-time jobs (for U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents) get two-year green cards that will lead, most likely, to permanent residency. In '93, the government allowed for the creation of "regional centers," which would more or less look over the shoulders of investors on behalf of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which oversee the whole shebang.
....
Looks like Dallas City Hall is doing an excellent job to market the city and area to the rest of the world. I'd like to see this initiative expanded to build stronger Texas ties with countries that buy a lot of American exports. Dallas politicians should pair with Houston politicians to increase the volume of American exports embarking from Texas. I think it's just as important to seek bigger and better trade relationships with European Counties as those in Asian.