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Sandra Dyche Kim has spent years working with the EB-5 visa program, helping immigrant investors connect with suitable American businesses. As the expiration of EB-5 approached, Sandra Dyche Kim and others in the industry weren’t content to sit idly by. Through her company, CapSpan, Sandra Dyche Kim worked hard to facilitate an extension to the program that helps both businesses and |
immigrants. Recently, Sandra Dyche Kim spoke to Oceans 2003 about how CapSpan worked to ensure the longevity of EB-5.
Oceans 2003: When was the EB-5 program set to expire?
Sandra Dyche Kim: EB-5 was good through September 30, 2012, which would have meant that multiple major projects would have been suspended because they’d been operating on partial funding.
Oceans 2003: What types of projects are being funded by EB-5?
Sandra Dyche Kim: There are projects all over the country, as well as business operations. One example of a major project receiving EB-5 funding is the renovation of the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City. Since the program began in 1990, it has funded projects like ski resorts, movies, medical facilities and numerous large projects that benefit the entire citizenship of cities.
Oceans 2003: How was CapSpan involved in the project’s extension?
Sandra Dyche Kim: CapSpan, along with law firm Akerman Senterfitt, asked the mayor of Columbia, S.C., who is the currently President of U.S. Conference of Mayors, to submit a resolution to the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The two of us hosted a dinner attended by the mayors.
Oceans 2003: What was the result of that event?
Sandra Dyche Kim: The Conference of Mayors drafted a resolution that was presented to Congress asking for a permanent reauthorization of the program. The resolution also asked for enhancements to the program that include additional visas and a permanent reauthorization of the regional centers that are so vital to the facilitation of the EB-5 program.
Oceans 2003: If EB-5 isn’t permanently reauthorized, what does that mean for the program?
Sandra Dyche Kim: The president has extended EB-5 through September 30, 2015, but multiple groups are asking for a permanent implementation of EB-5. The program is a serious source of revenue for our country, having brought in billions of dollars to American business in the past two decades.
Sandra Dyche Kim is a managing partner in CapSpan, where she works with both investors and businesses to facilitate successful investments. Prior to joining CapSpan, she was perhaps best known in the EB-5 community as having founded the New York City Regional Center, which is one of the most successful regional centers in the country.