In federal fiscal year 2014, the Vermont EB-5 Regional Center ranked in the top 10 out of over 500 regional centers nationwide for I-829 approvals. I-829 approvals for permanent residency are granted to investors whose investments led to a project successfully creating at least 10 jobs. Peter Joseph, Association to Invest in the USA (IIUSA) Executive Director remarked, "It is an honor for IIUSA to celebrate the success of 17 Regional Center members with I-829 approvals over the last year, including the State of Vermont Regional Center, at our 2014 EB-5 Market Exchange Conference.The I-829 approval milestone means a Regional Center has delivered on using global vision to create jobs in their communities.The large Vermont delegation at the event was yet another demonstration of the importance of EB-5 as an economic development tool to the state, and the active roles its stakeholders take in the industry and IIUSA."
Vermont EB-5 Regional Center Executive Director, Brent Raymond, stated. “During federal fiscal year 2014, Vermont’s 116 I-829 approvals equate to a minimum of 1,160 jobs created, placing the Regional Center in the top 2% nationwide. As a Vermonter who grew up in Franklin County, I cannot express how thrilled I am to witness the real world job creation of this program. It is a dynamic economic development tool for Vermont, supporting livable wage jobs such as construction, electrical, plumbing, architectural and tourism.” Mr. Raymond moderated a panel discussion on “EB-5 Public – Private Partnerships” at the IIUSA conference, is an IIUSA Compliance Committee member, and attended a committee meeting with other members from around the country.
The resulting EB-5 related economic growth in Orleans County was highlighted in State economist’s Kavet, Rockler & Associates’ July, 2014 economic review and revenue forecast that for the first time in history Orleans County is seeing some of the highest job creation in the state: an 8.4% increase since 2009. As State Economist Tom Kavet remarked, “Benefitting from widely-publicized EB-5 supported projects, Orleans County is also one of the few counties in which the labor force has grown since the last cyclical peak.”
Ken Jones, Ph.D, VT Agency of Commerce & Community Development Economic Research Analyst, observes, “The EB-5 investments in Orleans County have made a dramatic and measurable impact on the Orleans County economy when measuring employment. For the past five years, Orleans County has seen growth that separates it from the rest of the Northeast Kingdom and its historical economic pattern of very slow growth and depressed wages.”
Seven separate Vermont EB-5 projects have obtained I-829 approvals throughout the state. Vermont EB-5 Regional Center projects include Country Home Products, Jay Peak, Mount Snow, Seldon Technologies, Stowe Aviation and Trapp Family Lodge.
Source: State of Vermont Regional Center 11.12.2014. PHOTO: Courtesy Mount Snow Resort