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Former Democratic advisor uses EB-5 for green projects
Long-time Democratic fundraiser and advisor Terry McAuliffe is hoping to use the EB-5 visa program to fund a new electric car project.
McAuliffe recently showed former President Bill Clinton one of the MyCars, which are all-electric two-seater vehicles made in southern China, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
The MyCar is just part of McAuliffe's strategy, which falls under the umbrella of his recently founded GreenTech Automotive. McAuliffe expects that this venture, which includes converting an old paper factory in Virginia into a biomass plant, could end up being a $1 billion enterprise.
"What the Internet was for the 1990s, green jobs are for the 2000s,” McAuliffe told the news source.
McAuliffe said that his vision to go green came on a recent trip to London when he spotted a MyCar.
"I said to the guy, 'I'm not a carjacker, I promise you. If I give you $100, can I try this out?'" he said.
While McAuliffe has contact with a great deal of wealthy donors from his time with the Democratic party and chairing Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential bid, he plans to fund the project with the EB-5 visa program.
The EB-5 visa program was started to help American businesses attract foreign investment. If a foreign national invests $1 million (or in some specially designated areas, $500,000) and that investment results in the creation or preservation of 10 jobs, the investor becomes green card eligible.
Most EB-5 investments are handled through EB-5 regional centers. These centers 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 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
McAuliffe says he has already attracted a number of foreign investors through the EB-5 visa program.
Some believe that these green ventures will help McAuliffe with his aspiring presidential career. Last year, he lost in the Democratic primary in the Virginia governor's race.
"He could basically say, 'Virginia needs a governor who can go out there and sell the state, and I've done it,'" former McAuliffe senior strategist Mo Elleithee told the news provider. "It helps fill in a piece that was missing last time."