Jose Latour returns to Vietnam next week to debut American Venture Solutions Regional Center’s new Real Estate Development EB-5 project, River Oak EB-5, in partnership with Lindemann Multifamily Management. River Oak EB-5 is a loan-based TRUE TEA EB-5 project, located in Federal Opportunity Zone permitting investment at the U.S. $900,000 level.
FROM JOSE:
It’s been 13 months since my last visit to Vietnam. After 6 years of making the trek from Miami to our Saigon office 7-9 times annually, let me tell you: I REALLY miss Vietnam! Despite already having my twin Pfizer jabs, I will arrive in HCMC to a 14 day hotel quarantine…and I can’t wait. It is a small price to be to resume our role as Vietnam’s most trusted EB-5 source and besides: I might be locked up but I’ll be in the right time zone so I’m looking forward to a ZOOM-meeting-filled, productive stay in quarantine!
While the U.S. spent 2020 mismanaging the COVID pandemic, Vietnam’s rapid response not only protected its citizens: it kept the economy alive (albeit the tourism and related sectors have suffered immeasurably as in all other countries.) For American Venture Solutions Regional Center and LatourLaw, our team in Saigon – led by Vietnam Director Monica Pham – has carried the weight of our international business for the past year. We could not be prouder or more grateful for their efforts.
Despite the U.S. fumble on COVID, however, AVS EB-5 investors have continued all the while to successfully immigrate to the U.S., with our first group of investors now fully divested and their $500,000 back in hand. The 4 years of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies officially targeted illegal migrants, but it is no secret that ALL immigrants – including EB-5 investors – were adversely affected. Despite inexplicable delays in processing and many RFEs, USCIS has consistently continued issuing I-526 and I-829 approvals for AVS/Lindemann Groups Lake Point Project investors., our first partnership with the Lindemann Group. I am honored to be returning to Vietnam to launch yet another series of collaborative, TRUE TEA EB-5 offerings working exclusively with the Lindemann Group, with whom we have an impeccable 10 year record of EB-5 success. In 2019, when we closed the last partnership of the Lake Point Project, we had spent 8 years working very hard to sell:
- an equity-based investment
- in a rock mine
- in the middle of very rural Florida ( and a REAL TEA under the prior rules)
Meanwhile, we were competing against:
- loan-based real estate offerings
- in glamorous high-rises located in America’s richest neighborhoods
- falsely claiming to be in TEAs and thus being able to sell at the same $500,000 investment level as us.
And as if all that wasn’t tough enough, we had to do it on our own! Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) collected millions of dollars in fines from EB-5 Regional Centers who violated U.S. laws by working with migration agents and paying kickbacks, AVS EB-5 sourced its own investors, one family at a time. As far as I can tell, nothing has changed in that department: while the bad players can no longer “fake” TEA status and can only take investors at the U.S. $1.8M dollar non-TEA threshold, we are aware that U.S. projects relaunching now are STILL offering under-the-table payments to migration agents who refer investors. Well, that is STILL illegal today…so if you are interested in River Oak EB-5, save yourself some time and speak directly with Monica and our AVS Vietnam team.
Without saying too much about River Oak EB-5 – it’s being offered globally but launching first in Vietnam and prioritizing Vietnamese investors — I can share that the reality of our new task has put a smile on our teams’ faces. I mean, think about it: if we were able to successfully sell out Lake Point despite the unfair playing field, what BETTER way to re-enter the reformed, fair EB-5 market than by launching a stunning Florida Single Family Home rental community with the Lindemann Group in charge, still the only Forbes-pedigree U.S. group involved in EB-5? I promise: you will like it.
Joe Biden has arrived in the White House with a resounding, positive agenda, and USCIS responsiveness and processing is already improving dramatically. But of most interest to our Vietnam EB-5 investors is the news just revealed in the April 2021 Visa Bulletin: the Vietnamese EB-5 backlog leaped an amazing 54 days from the March bulletin, the biggest monthly advance since September of last year, when the EB-5 industry was basically comatose.
The Biden Administration’s inspired efforts on vaccination and economic recovery have already reinvigorated the U.S. economy and the upcoming infrastructure investments will further make America the world’s most sensible destination for investment based immigration. EB-5 once again makes sense America really IS back…and so is AVS EB-5! See you in April!