eb5exclusive

Jefferson County, New York, could potentially look to foreign investors to create significant local projects that would create jobs through the EB-5 visa program, the Watertown Daily Times reports.

The county's Local Development Corp. (JCLDC) and a hired contractor will reportedly sign the county up for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, which is run by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Through this program, foreigners are eligible to obtain a U.S. green card if they invest $1 million (or $500,000 in some areas) in an American project that either creates or maintains 10 full-time jobs.

David L. Mosher of Mosher Business Advisors Corp. suggested that the corporation should work with the Upstate New York EB-5 Regional Center, which is located in Buffalo and serves 22 counties.

EB-5 regional centers can help to direct and manage the foreign investments and can be "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," according to the USCIS.

"The company establishes itself, then goes into foreign countries and makes presentations overseas," Mosher told the news source. "There’s a lot of overhead and work to get a deal together, so the bigger, the better."