eb5exclusive

The Cleveland, Ohio International Fund, which has a proven track record of attracting foreign investment for projects such as the Flats East Bank, is planning to utilize the federal EB-5 visa program for funding for the expansion of University Hospitals in Cleveland.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the hospital system is putting the finishing touches on more than $1.2 billion in projects, which include a facility in the city of Beachwood and a new cancer center in Cleveland.

Baiju Shah, CEO of the biomedical organization BioEnterprise, told the news source that international funding for the healthcare projects would be beneficial for the investors themselves as well as the local economy.

"All these investments represent people who are extraordinarily successful in their own markets," Shah said. "We're starting to take a look at the investors and families connected to Cleveland through (the fund) and ways to leverage our very nascent relationship with them."

Through the federal EB-5 visa program, foreign nationals can obtain 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.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an EB-5 regional center such as the Cleveland International Fund 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."

During the fiscal year 2010, more than 2,700 investors sought U.S. green card eligibility through the EB-5 program, according to the USCIS.

EB-5 funding has already been extremely beneficial in Cleveland, as the $275 million Flats East Bank development, which includes a hotel, office building and retail, received international financial assistance.

According to the news source, the first stage of the project could create 2,300 construction jobs, while 2,000 employees could be added once the project is completed.

In a phone interview with the news provider, one of the Flats' Chinese investors said that the EB-5 visa program was the best available option for his family, who is looking to move to the U.S.

"Most specifically to me, thinking about the benefit to my daughter as she grows up… the U.S. has a very good educational system, and that definitely will be a benefit to my daughter," the investor told the news source.