eb5exclusive

The city of Riverside, California, has decided to partner with Riverside County on efforts to encourage international trade, the Press-Enterprise reports.

Lalit Acharya, the international relations officer in the office of the mayor, told the news provider that the next step in the process would be to set up operations with the county's office of foreign trade, which is led by Tom Freeman.

Acharya added that the city expects to look into the possibility of using the federal EB-5 visa program in order to encourage and increase foreign investment in Riverside, the news provider said.

Through the EB-5 visa program, foreign nationals can earn U.S. green card eligibility by making an investment of $1 million (or $500,000 in some areas) in an American project or company that either creates or maintains at least 10 full-time jobs.

Acharya told the news source that company Solar Max in the city of Industry, which wants to move to Riverside, has applied for approval to set up an EB-5 regional center that is required for EB-5 funding in the city.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an EB-5 regional center is "any economic unit, public or private, which is involved with the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment."