It’s safe to say that there is no place in the world, and certainly no state in America, quite like California—the “Golden State,” as it’s known. I’m speaking from experience—I was born in California and have lived here for most of my life. My work as an immigration attorney has led me to travel both across the United States and across the world, and my travels have given me a fresh perspective on just what makes California unique. In my mind, it’s this: in virtually all aspects—in it’s geography and climate; in it’s economy and population—what sets California apart is its incredible diversity. There is no such thing as an “average Californian.” There are people in California from all over the world, and from all walks of life.

California boasts some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the world, including Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UCLA and others. There’s also far more to choose from: nearly 400 colleges, the most of any state.

In their diversity, California’s climate and geography parallel its population.  From the deserts in the South and the snowy mountain ranges in the East to the forests in the North, California includes an amazing array of climate types and geographical features. California is also one of only a small handful of places in the world that have a Mediterranean climate, similar to those countries on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

California has an enormously productive and diverse economy. Though estimates vary, California—if it were a nation of its own—would have one of the 10 largest economies in the world. The state is one of the nation’s leaders in agriculture, producing more fruits, vegetables and dairy than any other state.  California is also known for its wine, which rivals that of Spain, Italy and France in both volume and quality. Of course, it is also the home of Hollywood, the world’s epicenter of film and television. And the high tech “Silicon Valley,” located in Southern California, is the nation’s leading producer of computer hardware and software.

For all its richness, it’s no wonder that aspiring immigrants to the United States regard California as one of the most desirable places to live. The EB-5 visa program can make that dream possible.

There was good news for both foreign entrepreneurs and the US economy in Washington this week. On February 24, 2010, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) introduced The StartUp Visa Act of 2010 to the senate floor. The legislation will create jobs, increase investment in the economy, and attract immigrant entrepreneurs to the US, giving the US an advantage in the global economy.

The new legislation would add a new category to current immigration law under the EB-5 category, creating a new EB-6 category for entrepreneurs. Currently, the EB-5 law is set up to attract foreign investors by granting them a green card after they invest at least $1 million in the economy and thereby create ten jobs. The proposed EB-6 category will grant immigrant entrepreneurs a two-year visa if they can show that a qualified US investor is willing to invest at least $250, 000 in the immigrant’s startup venture. If, after two years, the immigrant can show that he or she has generated at least five jobs in the US, attracted $1 million in additional capital, or achieved $1 million in revenue, then he or she will be granted permanent legal resident status.   

This new legislation is a win-win situation for both foreign entrepreneurs and the US economy. In this crucial time of growth and recovery, I can see no downside to encouraging investment in the US economy. This is why I am joining Senators Kerry and Lugar in their support of the StartUp Visa Act of 2010.

Seattle attorney Christopher Davis has recently decided to make absolutely certain that his clients understand a seemingly obvious fact about popular social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook: if you post it, anyone can see it.

This is a lesson one of Mr. Davis’ clients learn the hard way. As a result of the client posting a video of himself snowboarding on the Internet, the insurance adjuster involved in the client’s personal injury case–brought as the result of a car accident in which a client sustained injuries–decided reduce the offer of compensation by $20,000. The justification, of course, is that the snowboarding video suggested that the client’s injuries were not as debilitating as they were initially represented.

For more information on this cautionary tale, including a video of Mr. Davis explaining the facts of the case to a TV host, click here:

http://thelegalbroadcastnetwork.squarespace.com/the-lbn-blog/2009/8/18/clients-facebook-page-costs-him-20000.html

For Mr. Davis’ article, click here:

http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/Christopher-Davis-2363/settlement-devalued-64817.php

The Virginia Supreme Court will soon decide whether Juan R. Jimenez, a 25 year-old man disabled since childhood, should be compensated for the injuries he sustained more than two years ago while receiving rehabilitative services at Didlake, a charitable organization in the Virginia area.

Virginia is one of the few remaining states that have not yet abolished it’s “charitable immunity” law, according to which a charitable entity cannot be sued by a beneficiary who is injured in its care. Though such laws may make sense in the abstract, the reality is that many of the so-called “charitable” organizations that enjoy the protection of these laws are big business, raking in 10s of millions of dollars in revenue each year. Didlake Inc. is one such organization.

Mr. Jemenez’s attorney, Benjamin W. Glass, a personal-injury lawyer based in Fairfax, Virginia had this to say:

“We are pleased that we will be given the opportunity to argue on Juan’s behalf that he should be entitled to his day in court. Didlake is a huge business and Juan has fought challenges all of his life. Going up against a huge $32 million a year business is like David facing Goliath. The original reason for protecting charities in Virginia no longer exists when you are talking about big business.”

“In today’s economy what is strangling the small business community in Vermont and nationally is the lack of access to capital. Affordable capital is almost nonexistent in this marketplace. However, through the EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program at Jay Peak we are well on our way to raising 100 million of equity capital…. This country needs all the equity investment it can get right now. The EB-5 program is a wonderful example of an economic stimulus that is tax-free, not a burden to anyone, and has nothing but good benefits for all involved.”

I couldn’t agree more. The EB-5 program represents a win-win situation for all involved. Immigrant investors are given the opportunity to live, work and go to school in the United States, and the American economy greatly benefits from their investment. At a time when measures of incredible scope have been undertaken to stimulate the economy, making the EB-5 program permanent should being easy decision for Congress to make. And it should be done as soon as possible. Fortunately, it looks as though immigrant investors and American businesses may soon get their wish.

My name is Vaughan de Kirby, and I am a San Francisco-based attorney. I would like to express my support of State Assemblyman Paul Fong’s effort to secure an apology from the State of California for its treatment of Chinese immigrants and citizens.

            California’s Chinese immigrants have helped build ships, levies, irrigation systems and the Transcontinental Railroad. The Chinese have played a key role in California’s farming industry as well as in the development of California’s shrimp and abalone industries. We must not ignore the tremendous contribution that the Chinese immigrants, their families and descendants continue to make to California and the nation in every aspect of our society and economy. 

            It is impossible to overestimate the critical role that the Chinese played in the development of the State of California and the United States as a whole.

            The tragic fact is that the Chinese of California suffered assaults on their civil rights that are hard for us to comprehend today. The Chinese were required to pay special taxes, forced out of their homes, denied the rights to own property, marry whites and even attend public schools.  These were the official actions of our state and national government. These assaults on their civil liberties fail to address the violence and intimidation that was part of the Chinese immigrant’s life in the United States in the last century.

            These abuses are part of the living memory of many Chinese today. Many Chinese in San Francisco will remember when they could not buy property and were prevented from becoming naturalized citizens of the United States because they were Chinese. These violations of civil liberties should not be forgotten.

            It’s time for the State of California and the nation to formally apologize to the Chinese for the systematic denial of their civil liberties. It is time for the nation and the State of California to formally recognize the tremendous contribution made by the Chinese in the development of our state and nation as well as the continuing contribution they make to the diverse fabric of our society.

The most important advantage of the Pilot Program over the original EB-5 program is that the requirements are far easier to satisfy.

Remember that, under the first program, the investor was required to create an entirely new commercial enterprise. This condition no longer exists under the pilot program. It‘s enough to simply invest in an existing enterprise, as long as it was created after November 29, 1990.

What about creating 10 jobs? Though this is still required, the pilot program allows the jobs to be created indirectly. If the relevant statistics show that an investment of $500,000 will contribute to the regional economy in a way that will likely create or save at least 10 jobs, then this requirement will be satisfied.

Next, the “active management“ requirement. While the pilot program still technically requires the investor to participate in management or policymaking, this participation need not be anything more than symbolic. Many regional centers make investors into limited partners, which is enough to demonstrate that they are sufficiently involved. The reality is that simply making the investment in an approved regional center is enough to satisfy the active management requirement. And this means that investors and their families can live anywhere they wish, regardless of what regional center they invest in. Investors have the freedom to live wherever is best for them and their families, giving their children better access to state universities.

And, finally, the “at risk“ requirement. The pilot program continues to require that investors funds be “at risk,“ before their applications can be considered. But this condition can be satisfied in a way that offers more flexibility and security. The investor‘s capital need not actually be invested for this requirement to be satisfied–it can be held in escrow until the investor‘s Green Card application is approved.

STEP 10: Obtain Your Conditional Green Card

How you obtain your conditional Green Card--and, specifically whether an interview is required--will depend on the location at the time your I-526 petition is being processed. If you are living in the United States, you and your family will go to the local USCIS office to pick up your permanent resident Green Cards, once your application has been approved. Although local USCIS office procedures differ somewhat, no true interview is generally required.

On the other hand, if you are living outside the United States, you must first be interviewed at the U.S. Consulate or Embassy before receiving your permanent resident Green Card. First, you will receive a notification to prepare documents for the immigrant visa interview. Soon thereafter, you will be notified of the date and time of your interview. My firm will provide you with a complete immigration package to bring with you to the consulate and we will carefully prepare you for the interview process. At the conclusion of the successful interview, you will become a United States conditional Green Card holder and begin your preparations for your immigration to the United States.

No matter where you live, the only condition of your “conditional“ U.S. permanent residency Green Card is that your investment in the regional center remains intact for two years. As long as you do not withdraw your funds during this two-year period, your Green Card carries all the benefits of permanent residency. There are no restrictions on where you and your family live, work, or go to school in the United States.

STEP 8 - Compile Personal Information and Documentation

In addition to information about your investment, the U.S. government requires personal documentation for you and your family, to be certain that you are indeed who you say you are before they give you a Green Card. This documentation takes many forms, as you will find outlined in the guide to documentation later in this book. As your Investment Immigration Attorneys, we will work with you to identify those items of personal documentation that will be necessary in your particular case.

STEP 9: The Law Offices of Vaughan de Kirby Files an I-526 petition for Work Alien Entrepreneur with USCIS

 At this point, we are ready to prepare and file your I-526 petition with USCIS. In addition to the petition itself, there are two critical pieces of the application. First will be the extensive personal and investment funds documentation that you have compiled. The second critical piece will be provided by the regional center, fully documenting their regional center and their projects. The regional center plays a very important role in your application and are firmly committed to your success.