EB-5 INVESTORS & REGIONAL CENTERS A PRACTICE SKILLS WORKSHOP

Transcription

1 AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION AILA 2012 TOPICS CLE CONFERENCE EB-5 INVESTORS & REGIONAL CENTERS A PRACTICE SKILLS WORKSHOP FRIDAY SATURDAY, APRIL 20-21, 2012 ATLANTIS RESORT NASSAU, BAHAMAS FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES Steven T. Anapoell is a shareholder in the Irvine office of Greenberg Traurig, P.C., where he focuses his practice on forming private equity, distressed debt, real estate, venture capital and special strategy funds, mergers and acquisitions, private and public securities offerings, debt and equity investments and financings, and structuring and negotiating complex corporate transactions. He has represented companies and investors in a variety of industries, including renewable energy, real estate, entertainment, telecommunications, sporting goods, software, senior life settlements and medical devices. In addition, he has experience in representing start-up and emerging growth companies and regularly advises clients on such issues as capital formation and financing strategies, general corporate governance and tax planning. Mr. Anapoell also advises clients interested in raising capital for, and establishing regional centers to administer, projects qualifying for investment under the EB-5 Entrepreneur Investment Visa Program. Mr. Anapoell has been selected by Los Angeles Magazine as one of Southern California s Super Lawyers in the areas of Securities & Corporate Finance, Business/Corporate and Tax for the years He also holds a rating of preeminent in his field by Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Anapoell is the former Chair of the Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies Committee, State Bar of California Business Law Section. He is the author and 2011 update author of Chapter 6A Drafting a Private Placement Memorandum Under Regulation D (the Continuing Education of the Bar-California) Financing and Protecting California Businesses; the 2011 update author of Chapter 5A Issuing Common Shares to Founders and Investors (the Continuing Education of the Bar-California) Financing and Protecting California Businesses; and the co-editor and co-author of Guide to Organizing and Operating a Limited Liability Company in California (second edition), Business Law Section of the State Bar of California. Mr. Anapoell received his LL.M (Taxation) from Georgetown University Law Center, his J.D. from the University of California (Hastings College of the Law), and his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California (Berkeley). K. David Andersson is President of the Association for Investment in the U.S.A. ( IIUSA ) - the trade and advocacy of association for Regional Centers in America. He is also a principal in the Whatcom County Regional Center operating out of Bellingham, WA focusing on investment in retirement living in the county. Mr. Andersson also currently serves on the AILA EB5 Committee. He practices immigration law as Principal of Andersson Cross Border Law Corporation, with 1

2 offices in Vancouver, British Columbia and with Cascadia Cross Border Law in Bellingham, WA. Mr. Andersson also currently serves as President of the Pacific Corridor Enterprise Council, a cross-border business and advocacy organization. Past service to AILA includes Chair of the Washington State Chapter, CBP Liaison Committee and the AILA National CBP Liaison & Advocacy Committee. Elsie Hui Arias is a partner of Stone & Grzegorek LLP in Los Angeles. She is certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in immigration and nationality law. She practices all areas of immigration law, with an emphasis in employment- and investment-based immigration. She has served as a conference speaker on diverse immigration topics, and is the co-author of several articles for AILA publications, including Transitioning the E- 2 Investor to an EB-5 Entrepreneur and Navigating the Lawful Source Requirement for EB-5 Immigration. Ms. Arias is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California at Davis School of Law. Kim Atteberry is the President of Vermillion Consulting LLC, a small business dedicated to improving the EB-5 process. Previously she served as the Chief Economist for USCIS during the recent growth of the Regional Center Pilot Program. Between these two jobs, she has worked with both the governmental and private sides of EB-5, and maintains close relationships with many of the various EB-5 stakeholders. Vermillion Consulting specializes in identifying and qualifying EB-5 projects with a focus on job-creation requirements. The company is also working diligently to ensure Congress permanent authorization of the Program. Andrew B. Barkan is a corporate partner resident in Fried Frank's New York office. He joined the Firm in 2000 and became a partner in Mr. Barkan concentrates his practice on corporate finance transactions, including the representation of issuers and underwriters in domestic and international public offerings and private placements such as initial public offerings, follow-on and secondary equity offerings, high-yield and investment-grade debt offerings, acquisition financings, and related capital market and private equity transactions. In addition, Mr. Barkan advises clients on a variety of securities law and corporate governance matters. Mr. Barkan also has experience advising clients on due diligence matters in connection with EB-5 projects. John Barrett has over 20 years of experience as an economist. He has held positions in the public sector, academia and the private sector. Before founding Performance Economics, Mr. Barrett was a Regional Economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the division that developed the RIMS II multiplier model. He has been a lecturer at Suffolk University in Boston and the Director of Research at the University's public policy think tank the Beacon Hill Institute. He was also a Principal at IHS Global Insight, the worlds leading economic forecasting and consulting firm. He is an expert on economic impact modeling, helping Fortune 500 companies determine their impact on the national economy and speaking frequently at conferences on the subject. Michele A. Buchanan (Michele@LSKGLAW.com) has over twenty years of business-based immigration law experience, including extensive experience in EB-5 immigration, as well as the representation of multinational corporations, academic institutions and their employees, and entertainment industry workers. She is an associate attorney with Stone & Grzegorek LLP in Los Angeles ( and is a former Chair of the Southern California Chapter of AILA. She earned her BA in Asian Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, her JD from the University of West Los Angeles, and has completed intensive language coursework in Japanese and Mandarin studies at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and National Taiwan Normal University, respectively. She is conversant in Mandarin. Edward J. Carroll (ecarroll@cslaw.us) devotes his practice to EB-5 and Treaty Investor (E-2) matters. He counsels regional centers, enterprises and investors on EB-5 issues and is designated by various approved regional centers to file EB-5 petitions. Mr. Carroll is a frequent presenter on U.S. immigration law to Bar Associations and business groups in the U.S. and abroad. His writings have appeared in publications of the American Bar Association, the Vermont Bar Association, Canadian media and in AILA publications. Mr. Carroll comments on radio and television on immigration issues. He has taught immigration law at the Vermont Service Center. Mr. Carroll is a member of AILA s EB-5 committee. He practices at Carroll & Scribner, P.C., in Burlington, Vermont. 2

3 Robert C. Divine is the chairman of the Immigration Group of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell, & Berkowitz, P.C., comprising 630 lawyers and public policy advisors with offices in 17 cities from Washington, DC to Houston. Mr. Devine served from 2004 through 2006 as chief counsel, and for a time acting director, of USCIS. He is the author of Immigration Practice, a 1,600 page practical treatise on all aspects of U.S. immigration law. He has chaired various AILA committees. He is vice president of the Association to Invest in the USA (IIUSA), an association for EB-5 regional centers. Ignacio A. Donoso is a Senior Attorney with FosterQuan, LLP. Mr. Donoso works primarily from the Washington, D.C. office of FosterQuan, LLP. Mr. Donoso is a graduate of McGill University, where he completed an LL.B. degree as well as a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Arts (with Distinction). He also completed an LL.M. degree from the George Washington University. Mr. Donoso is Board Certified in Immigration & Nationality Law by the State Bar of California. Mr. Donoso s practice focuses on advising foreign investors. He has developed particular expertise in EB-5. He has advised individual investors obtain EB-5 visas through Regional Centers and through investments in their own companies. He has also advised developers in successful applications for designation of EB-5 Regional Centers, and serves as lead immigration counsel to established Regional Centers and their investors in processing I-526 and I-829 visa petitions. Mr. Donoso has published numerous articles and is a frequent speaker on immigration law issues affecting investors. Mr. Donoso is fluent in Spanish and French. Tammy Fox-Isicoff is a former Trial Attorney for the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and Special Assistant United States Attorney. She is Past President of the South Florida Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyer's Association "AILA" and has served on the Board of Governors of AILA National for over 15 years where she has chaired their Media, Congressional and Bar Association Committees and where she currently serves on the EB-5 committee. Tammy has served as AILA's representative to the ABA 's Immigration Coordinating Committee where she secured passage of a number of significant immigration resolutions. Tammy is on the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities Legal Services and has been the recipient of three AILA Presidential Awards for advocacy on behalf of immigrants. In 2009, Tammy was awarded the Adalsinda Lomangino Award by the South Florida American Immigration Lawyer s, the highest award given by the Association, for her work on behalf of immigrants. Tammy has served on the Florida Bar's Certification Committee for Immigration and Nationality Law (where she has written and graded Florida Bar Certification exams) and is Certified by the Florida Bar in Immigration and Nationality Law. Tammy holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been continually listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers Global, South Florida's Top Lawyers, SuperLawyers and International Who s Who of Corporate Lawyers. SuperLawyers has recognized Tammy as one of the top 50 women lawyers in Florida and in 2011 Best Lawyers listed Tammy as the best of the best in the immigration Field in Miami. Tammy has been a frequent immigration law consultant on the Today Show and Morning Show. She has served as immigration legal consultant to NBC, ABC, CBS, CNBC, FOX and MSNBC. A frequent lecturer on all areas of immigration law and author, Tammy has chaired over thirty (30) continuing legal education courses in the immigration field. Daniel J. Healy is the Managing Partner of Civitas Capital Management, LLC, manager of the City of Dallas Regional Center in a public-private partnership with the City of Dallas, Texas. Mr. Healy has more than 15 years of investment management and consulting experience. He is a former partner with Royalton Real Estate Capital, LLC and a former executive vice president of Highland Capital Management, LP, a $30 billion asset manager, where he served as chief compliance officer for an affiliated FINRA-member securities broker-dealer. Mr. Healy holds an undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Dallas and an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. He holds FINRA Series 7, 24, 28 and 63 securities registrations and the Series 65 investment advisory registration. Nicolai Hinrichsen is a Partner in the law firm of Miller Mayer, LLP. He is a member of the firm s Immigration Department. Mr. Hinrichsen specializes in the representation of EB-5 Immigrant Investors and EB-5 Regional Centers. In addition, his practice includes the representation of individuals, institutions and companies, in all types of immigration matters, including nonimmigrant visa petitions, immigrant (both employment and family-based) visa petitions, labor certifications, J-1 waiver applications, naturalization applications, and applications to adjust or change status. Prior to 3

4 joining Miller Mayer, Mr. Hinrichsen practiced corporate and securities law in the San Francisco office of Sidley Austin. He was also in-house counsel in the Paris office of Case Corporation. Mr. Hinrichsen received his J.D. from the Boston University School of Law in 1998, where he was a Paul J. Liacos Scholar and Edward F. Hennessey Scholar. He was a visiting student at the University of Lieden in the Netherlands in 1997 where he studied advanced issues in European Union Law. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley in John Jiang is the President and CEO of MICON International LLC. With 20+ years of diversified business experiences both in US and China, Mr. Jiang entered EB5 arena in later 2007 and has since became one of the leading marketing specialist in the industry. Through the strategic partnership with a large network of immigration consulting firms throughout China, Micon International has successfully assisted a number of USCIS designated regional centers to promote their EB-5 investment projects in China. Robert E. Juceam is Of Counsel to and former Senior Partner of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. His practice includes complex commercial litigation, insurance and reinsurance arbitration and defense of malpractice and disciplinary claims. Resident in the New York Office, and formerly Chair of the Firm s Washington DC litigation department, he is a past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and past Chair of the Ethics Committee of AILA and of its New York Chapter. Kate Kalmykov is Of Counsel at Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Kate works with developers, private equity funds and organizations on developing projects that qualify for EB-5 investments. This includes creation of Regional Centers, having projects adopted by existing centers and individual EB-5s. Kate regularly helps to prepare I-924 amendments, exemplar petitions, and develops compliance programs. She also counsels foreign nationals on individual or Regional Center EB-5s, as well as issues related to I-829 Removal of Conditions. H. Ronald Klasko (Ron) (rklasko@klaskolaw.com) is one of the country's leading lawyers representing investors in EB-5 cases and treaty investor (E-2) visas. He is the Chair of the EB-5 Committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. In that capacity, he leads advocacy efforts with USCIS to improve the EB-5 program. Ron is the attorney for both individual and regional center investors. He also represents two of the three largest regional centers. He has spoken at conferences around the world on EB-5 issues. Numerous U.S. developers and business owners have sought Ron's counsel in connection with using the EB-5 program to raise capital for investment projects. Ron's counsel has included applications to designate new regional centers; applications for pre-approval of projects within regional centers; having projects adopted by existing regional centers; and purchasing designated regional centers. Ron Klasko is a founding member of Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer, LLP and serves as its Managing Partner. He has practiced immigration law exclusively for over three decades. Under his leadership, the firm has been chosen with five other firms by Chambers Global as the top U.S. business immigration law firms. Ron, himself, was named as one of the top two most respected corporate immigration lawyers in the world for the last four years by the International Who's Who of Business Lawyers. Ron is a former national president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). He served as General Counsel of that organization and has been a member of its Board of Governors since He has also served as National Chair of AILA's Business Immigration Committee. He is a member of the prestigious Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers. Linda Lau was awarded her Juris Doctor Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law. She is a member of the California State Bar and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of California. She is also admitted as a Solicitor of England and Wales. Linda currently serves as the Vice Chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association ( AILA ) EB-5 Committee and is a former chair and member of the Executive Committee of AILA s Southern California chapter. Her California-based law firm, Global Law Group, specializes in U.S. immigration strategies for high net-worth individuals and opened its Shanghai representative office last year. Linda is a frequent lecturer and speaker in seminars on inbound immigration through investment in business organizations. Linda, originally from Hong Kong, speaks Cantonese and Mandarin. 4

5 Martin J. Lawler is a California immigration law specialist with over thirty years experience. He is the author of Professionals: A Matter of Degree, a treatise on business visas. Professionals, published by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) now in its fifth edition (released in June 2009), is a leading text on professional visas. In its fourth edition, Professionals was chosen by the San Francisco Law Library as its book of the month. Martin has also authored many book chapters and articles. The Wall Street Journal published two op-ed articles by Martin in On September 7, 2007, he was a guest speaker on National Public Radio s Science Friday program about visas for scientists. In May 2010, CNBC ran an excellent story on EB-5 visas in which Martin appeared. The link is Martin has lectured on various visa matters, including engagements at Harvard University, Tulane University, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Annual and other conferences, the American Law Institute, the San Francisco Bar Association, and the American Chemical Society, among other venues. Martin has been a member of AILA s EB-5 investor visa committee In 2009, he also spoke at AILA s only all EB-5 conference and led AILA s Texas conference panel on EB-5 visas. Previously, he chaired AILA s H-1B visa committee. Martin is the 1996 recipient of the AILA Jack Wasserman Memorial Award for excellence in immigration litigation. He has also received a number of AILA presidential awards. He is Martindale-Hubbell A rated and listed in Best Lawyers in America. Carolyn S. Lee (csl@millermayer.com) is a Partner at Miller Mayer, LLP ( in Ithaca, NY. She earned her BA degree cum laude from Williams College, and her JD degree with specialization in International Legal Affairs from Cornell University Law School. Her practice focuses on EB-5 immigrant investors and regional centers. Carolyn is author of EB-5 publications including Ethical and Practical Considerations in EB-5 Practice (2008), The Meaning of At Risk in EB-5 Investment (2009), and Material Change in EB-5 Petitions: A Need to Return to the Drawing Board (2010). She is co-author of EB-5 publications including Relevance of U.S. Securities Laws to Immigrant Investors, EB-5 Regional Centers and Their Advisors (2009). She is a member of the AILA EB-5 Investor Committee, AILA Investor Conference Committee, and the AILA California Service Center Liaison Committee. Ms. Lee is also the 2008 recipient of AILA's Joseph Minsky Young Lawyer Award. Her complete bio info is at: David M. Morris (Morris@VisaLawGroup.com) is the managing member of the Visa Law Group PLLC law firm in Washington DC. He has practiced exclusively in the area of immigration for past 18 years. David has 10 years of hands on experience with the EB-5 investor visa program in both pre- and post-izummi decision years. In December 2008, he won an important AAO victory expanding the troubled business classification in the EB-5 program. He has established or amended several regional centers, and has assisted individual investors representing 20 different countries. He is also a principal in the DC Regional Center operating out of Washington, DC focusing on investment in commercial real estate. Mr. Morris also currently serves on the AILA EB-5 Investor Committee, as well as the AILA Investor Conference Committee. Chun Yun ( Elizabeth ) Peng is a co-founder and senior attorney of Peng & Weber, PLLC ( a suburban Seattle-based immigration law firm focusing on EB-5 visa investors, L-1 executives and managers, and other areas of investment- and business-focused immigration law. Ms. Peng earned her L.L.B. degree at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, China in While pursuing L.L.M. studies at the same university, she earned a Ford Foundation scholarship to study law in the United States, completing her J.D. degree at the University of Kansas in Ms. Peng is a long-standing member of AILA, is a former executive committee member of the Washington State chapter of AILA, and has extensive experience representing Chinese businesses and entrepreneurs in all areas of immigration law related to EB-5 immigrant investors and L-1/EB-1C multinational executives and managers. Susan L. Pilcher, spilcher@cslaw.us, is Of Counsel to the firm of Carroll & Scribner, P.C. in Burlington, Vermont, where her general immigration practice features a substantial focus on EB-5 matters, including representation of regional centers, regional center-affiliated projects, and of individual investors worldwide in connection with both regional centerbased and standalone petitions. She is widely known for her knowledgeable and highly experienced representation of EB- 5 investors from over 35 countries and her expertise with consular processing worldwide. A featured speaker on EB-5 5

6 law for AILA and ilw.com, she has also published extensively, notably as a contributing author and Associate Editor of AILA s Immigration Options for Investors and Entrepreneurs (2d ed. 2010). Ms. Pilcher s professional background features over 20 years of immigration law experience, including nearly a decade as full-time law faculty. She earned her law degree with distinction from Stanford Law School, where she served as Managing Editor of the Stanford Law Review and earned an academic prize for her legal writing. Ms. Pilcher s EB-5 blog can be found at Lincoln Stone is the Conference Program Chair of AILA s EB5 Investor Visa Conference. Lincoln s legal training includes a federal court clerkship, trial attorney experience with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, private practice experience in business transactions and litigation, and more than 20 years of immigration law practice. Lincoln is a member of and previously served five years as Chair of AILA s EB5 Investor Visa Committee. He is the Editor-in- Chief of the first and second editions of Immigration Options for Investors and Entrepreneurs, published by AILA, and his writing in the immigrant investor field includes such works as Immigrant Investment in Local Clusters; Policy Considerations in the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program; Removal of the Conditions on Permanent Residence; and Conditional Permanent Residence and Immigration Risk for Investors, among many other articles. Lincoln is one of 15 immigration attorneys at Stone & Grzegorek LLP in Los Angeles, and he is one of six Certified Specialists in immigration and nationality law at the law firm. Cletus M. Weber is a Co-Founder and Managing Member of Peng & Weber, PLLC, a Mercer Island, Washington (suburban Seattle) immigration law firm focusing on assisting investors, entrepreneurs, and highly talented persons from around the world. He is Editor-in-Chief of The AILA Manual on PERM Labor Certification, Fifth Edition (forthcoming, 2011), Associate Editor of AILA s Immigration Options for Investors & Entrepreneurs, 2nd Edition (2010), Associate Editor of AILA s Immigration Practice Pointers: Tips for Handling Complex Cases ( ), Chair of AILA s national Board of Publications Committee, a member of AILA s national EB-5 Conference Committee, and author of the popular Unsolicited Advice column on immigration law practice for AILA s online magazine, Voice: An Immigration Dialogue. His practice focuses on employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant visas with special emphasis on EB-5 investors, E-2 investors, PERM labor certification, national interest waivers, aliens of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors or researchers, and J-1 waivers. Mr. Weber earned his BBA degree (Beta Gamma Sigma honors) at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1986 and earned his law degree at the National Law Center of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. in He served as Managing Editor of the George Washington Law Review, In addition to having written and spoken nationally on immigration law and practice, Mr. Weber has been quoted on immigration law issues in HR Magazine, The Seattle Times, Daily Telegraph (UK), Workforce Management, and other major media. Joseph P. Whalen is not an attorney. He is a former government employee who is familiar with the INA. His education is in Anthropology with a concentration in Archaeology and has both a BA (from SUNY Buffalo) and an MA (from San Francisco State University) in Anthropology. He previously worked as an Archaeologist for the U.S. Forest Service before becoming an Adjudicator with INS which became USCIS. He was the sole EB-5 Regional Center Adjudicator for the period leading up to the creation of the USCIS Form I-924 and has published dozens of scholarly articles on Immigration and nationality law. 6