I apologize for my silence but it’s been a bit of an exciting start to the new year!  Lots going on but here is the big news:American Venture Solutions Regional Center is very happy to announce that after the tremendous reception Sharon and I received for the loan-based Lake Point EcoVentures Phase I PL, the principals of the Lake Point Project have decided to make available a direct EQUITY EB-5 private placment offering of $10M available for 20 accredited EB-5 investors.  These investors will have an actual equity stake in the $100M+ Lake Point Project and their risk will mirror that of their Forbes 400 General Partners.Sharon and I will be traveling to Beijing, Shanghai, and Saigon/Ho Chih Minh City (Vietnam) in late February with Jud Laird, Managing Director of Lake Point and …

Congratulations out to Arthur, Carolina, and all the folks at Queensfort/Sonic for their first I-526 approval!   The EB-5 investor, who wanted an equity-based EB-5 project, contacted me via Immigration Insider.   He was the first to invest in QS and LatourLaw filed his I-526 – their first.  Fittingly, the first of many QS I-526s now in the pipeline was the first to be approved by USCIS.As my readers know, I have been pretty critical of the equity-based EB-5 structures I've seen;  the structure put together by Queensfort, however, is an entirely different animal.  Instead of putting the EB-5 investor's interests last (as virtually all I've reviewed do), an innovative series of protections are in place for EB-5 Limited Partners.  It took Caro…

Steve Cantor and Hal Webb are among the best private client tax practioners in the U.S. and, fortunately for me and many of my clients, located right here in Miami.  Today the firm sent out an email advising of recent IRS guidance for U.S. Citizens or Dual Citizens Residing Outside the U.S.  Because many of our clients remain overseas while having business activities and investments in the U.S., and because many are dual nationals, I wanted to share this with you.On a side note: we have worked with Steve and Hal for years in assisting our foreign private clients and we do so on a “no referral fee” basis.  Our “payoff” is in knowing that our immigration clients are in the best possible tax-planning hands.  Please contact them directly if you need sophisticated tax planni…

Folks, I posted an ad earlier and got several attorneys applying…I apologize for the confusion.  I am actually looking for an Administrative Assistant who is fully fluent in Mandarin.  This person will be serving as my primary "vocal chord" in Miami so poor Sharon doesn't have to spend her valuable time translating and interacting on my behalf with our partners and investors in China.  I'm looking for one VERY sharp cookie who wants to come along for what appears to be a pretty exciting EB-5 ride next year, so if you know that person, PLEASE pass this along!  Thx, JP.S. below is the Craigslist job posting FYIMidtown-area (Miami) law firm seeking full time Administrative Assistant with the following minimum qualifications: NATIVE fluency in wri…

Remember October 13th's Immigration Insider, On Trust and EB-5 Marketing in China, where I mentioned Missouri's Mamtek EB-5 mess, where a number of EB-5 investors from China got taken for a ride, along with the State of Missouri?  Well, it's finally making the mainstream media in the U.S…and it sounds like the whole mess is the FAULT of the Chinese!In a rather comprehensive Associated Press Article on Failed Job Creation Plans, the writer opens by describing Mamtek as "A global company with Chinese ownership"…leaving the reader with the impression that the only victims were in Missouri, and that the perpetrators were from China.  Nothing could be further from the truth: the former Chairman and President of Mamtek was California Attorney Bruce Cole .&#…

With Sinophobia now officially hitting the Republican primary debates (astonishingly triggered by no less than the former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman — excellent Christian Science Monitor article HERE ), the Chinese government's announcement that it wants to bankroll U.S. infrastructure is a game-changer…and a reality check for those who continue to view U.S./China relations with a lingering Cold War attitude. While it isn't a startling revelation to my particular readership, the American public in general would be dismayed to learn that China has over $1 trillion invested in U.S. bonds.  That kind of economic might is precisely what feeds the xenophobia that seems to make for such good political posturing in this climate of a stalled U.S. economy.  Histori…

A vodka named Miami? Absolutely – Art Basel – MiamiHerald.com.…

UPDATE:  Art Lexing will be at Booth A5 of Art Asia…come see us!!The extraordinarily talented Lexing Zhang is back in Miami as part of her ever-churning cycle of life as an art troubadour.  Lexing, my client and good friend, is a Chinese contemporary art broker based in Shanghai and Paris, and she's back for next week's Art Asia (during Art Basel) at Midtown Miami, right around the corner from our Biscayne office.With half as many featured Chinese artists in four times the booth space she had last year, this year's collection by Art Lexing offers three very different contemporary Chinese artists using different media and creating a compelling contrast with each other, mirroring the traditional elements of today's uber-urbanized China.  Take a look at th…

F-1 with EAD okay, will sponsor H-1B for the right person. Qualifications:Must be TRULY fluent in business Chinese, as in native-level fluencyPrefer AA or BS in business, English, or IT but open to all educational BGsMust be fully competent in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and possess the ability to write, edit, and publish basic HTMLSEO experience would be very relevantCandidates already in South Florida are preferred, position is available immediatelyPlease send your c.v. and cover letter to jlatour@latourlaw.com.…