Why Vermont?
"The Vermont Regional Center is the Gold standard of the country in terms of organisation, quality and brand."
The state of Vermont is the only designated Regional Center in the United States that is operated and supervised by a government department within the state - The Agency Of Commerce And Community Development (ACCD).
The State of Vermont Regional Center and its approved EB-5 visa projects have significant government backing at the State level from Governor, Peter Shumlin and Secretary of Commerce, Lawrence Miller; also at the federal level from United States Senator and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy. Senator Leahy is the driving force behind the EB-5 pilot program as we know it today and is responsible for the current 3-year extension signed in to law by President Obama, October 2009.
Why EB-5 Investors Choose the Vermont Regional Center:
Stable Targeted Employment Area (TEA)
The State of Vermont is very rural by nature thus providing a TEA that is robust and free of concern for meeting high unemployment levels often required by other regional centers.
Government Owned and Operated
The State Agency of Commerce and Community Development supervises, oversees and administers the Vermont EB-5 projects for compliance with USCIS EB-5 regulations.
The State must review and approve each and every EB-5 Project to utilize the State Regional Center designation. Upon State approval of each EB-5 Project, the State requires the Promoter to enter into a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the State which imposes strict duties and obligations upon the Promoter. Failure to comply, if not remedied, could result in the Project losing the State approval and use of the Regional Center designation.
State Oversight
The State Agency of Commerce and Community Development supervises, oversees and administers the Vermont EB-5 projects for compliance with USCIS EB-5 regulations.
The State Secretary of Commerce Lawrence Miller has overall responsibility for the EB-5 program reporting to Governor Peter Shumlin; the State EB-5 director of projects is James Candido; Attorney John Kessler is the State Commerce Department attorney with one of his primary functions being the legal oversight and acting as intermediary for legal and USCIS matters for EB-5 projects.
Pre-approval of EB-5 Projects
The pre-approval of projects by the State of Vermont ACCD ensures compliance with Regional Center EB-5 requirements. 100% of submitted petitions have been approved.
State Reviewed
State officials visit the EB-5 projects on an almost monthly basis to monitor not only the progress of development but also to provide any kind of help and support at both State and Federal level that an EB-5 project may need to further implement the program.
The State reviews each EB-5 Project on a quarterly basis, requiring the Project to provide written reports to the State covering issues such as investor activity, job creation, status of alien investor capital, compliance with regulatory requirements., progress of project pursuant to business plan and the expertise of personnel operating the project.