EB-5 Advocacy Conference Agenda & Speakers Are Set – Sign up Today!

Panel discussion with speaker at podium.

We are three weeks away from the 10th Annual EB-5 Advocacy Conference at the Marriott Marquis, from April 26-28, 2017! The EB-5 industry’s longest running annual conference features three action-packed days combining the right balance of grassroots advocacy, advanced education, and business development opportunities. You can review the full conference agenda below.

Attendees at this year’s event will have access to a number panels on hot-topics including legislative and regulatory reform; macro trends affecting U.S. real estate markets; USCIS policy, adjudication and processing trends; EB-5 Regional Center compliance audits & site visits; SEC enforcement trends and case studies; advanced source of funds issues; EB-5 demand and marketing trends in China and a around the world and much more!

Don’t miss this opportunity to be in Washington D.C. at this important time for the EB-5 industry.

Sign up today!

Still Need a Hotel Room?

The room block has expired however, IIUSA still has several more rooms available at the discounted price of $355/night at the Marriott Marquis for April 26-28. These will be allocated on a first-come-first serve basis. If you have not yet booked your room, you can put yourself on the waitlist by filling out this form. You must be registered for the conference to have access to the discounted rate.

Conference Overview & Panel Highlights

(View Complete Schedule)

Wednesday, April 26th

Committee Meetings, Annual Membership Meeting, Welcome Reception

8:45am – 10:00am: IIUSA Committee Meetings: Best Practices Committee, Editorial Committee, Membership Committee (Members-Only)

10:00am – 11:15am: IIUSA Committee Meetings: Public Relations Committee, Banking Committee, Public Policy Committee (Members-Only)

11:15am – 12:30pm: IIUSA Committee Meetings: Investor Markets Committee, Compliance Committee (Members-Only)

2:00pm – 5:00pm: 12th Annual IIUSA Membership Meeting (Members-Only)

5:00pm – 7:00pm: Welcome Reception

Thursday, April 27th

General Sessions & Keynote Panels

7:30am – 8:30am: “Ask Me Anything” with IIUSA Staff: Advocacy, Membership, Digital Resources

8:30am – 9:15am: What is at Stake in EB-5 Reauthorization & Reform: Review of Legislative and Regulatory Issues

Adam Greene, President, Live in America Financial Services LLC
Michael Homeier, Founding Shareholder, Homeier & Law, P.C.
Peter Joseph, Executive Director, IIUSA
Hans Rickoff, Senior Counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

9:15am – 10:00am: Roundtable Focus: Hot Topics in the EB-5 Reform Debate

John Baselice, Director, Immigration Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Hunter Bates, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Angel Brunner, Director, IIUSA; President, EB5 Capital
Rush Deacon, Managing Director, Pine State Regional Center, LLC
Bill Gresser, Director Emeritus, IIUSA; President, EB-5 New York State, LLC
Steve Yale-Loehr, President Emeritus, IIUSA; Of Counsel, Miller Mayer, LLP

10:30am – 11:15am: Guest of Honor Address: Julia Harrison, Deputy Chief, USCIS Immigrant Investor Program Office

11:20am – 12:10pm: First 100 Days of the Trump Administration: What Does It Mean for EB-5?

Robert Divine, Vice President, IIUSA; Shareholder, Donelson, Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C.
George Foresman, Chairman, NYSA Capital LLC
Charles Foster, Director, IIUSA; Chairman, Foster LLP
Tom Loeffler, Senior Counsel, Akin Gump Strauss

1:00pm – 1:30pm: Guest of Honor Address: Honorable Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY, 27th)

1:40pm – 2:30pm: “Keep Calm & EB-5 On”: A Macro Perspective on EB-5 & Geopolitics

Jonathan Bloch, Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP
Dan Healy, Director, IIUSA; CEO, Civitas Capital Group
Stephen A. Orlins, President, National Committee on US-China Relations*
Reid Thomas, Executive Vice President, NES Financial
Abteen Vaziri, Director, Greystone EB-5 Holdings Corporation

2:30pm – 3:20pm: Enforcement & Compliance: EB-5 Under a Microscope by Regulators & Law Enforcement

Michael Fitzpatrick, Partner, Baker Tilly LLP
Michael Goldberg, Partner; Co-Chair, Fraud & Recovery Practice Group, Akerman LLP
Ira Kurzban, Partner, Kurzban Kurzban Weinger Tetzeli & Pratt P.A.
Chris Robertson, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Robert Whyte, Managing Partner, Whyte & Co

4:00pm – 4:50pm: EB-5 Litigation: Examining How EB-5 Policy is Shaped by the Courts

Dan Lundy, Partner, Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP
Brandon Meyer, Principal, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
John Pratt, Partner, Kurzban Kurzban Weinger Tetzeli & Pratt P.A.

5:00pm – 5:50pm: Backlogs and Retrogression: Visa Capacity & USCIS Processing Times Review

Charles Oppenheim, Chief, Visa Controls Office, U.S. Department of State
Kraig Schwigen, President, CMB Regional Centers
Kyle Walker, Director, IIUSA; CEO, Green Card Fund, LLC
Cletus Weber, Director, IIUSA; Co-Founder and Senior Attorney, Peng & Weber, PLLC
Bernie Wolfsdorf, Partner, Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP

Friday, April 28th

General Session & Breakout Panels

9:00am – 9:50am: Capital Redeployment: How the Industry is Handling the Lack of Guidance from USCIS

Allison Berman, General Counsel, Greystone EB-5 Holdings Corporation
Mary King, COO, New York City Regional Center
Lincoln Stone, Partner, Stone Grzegorek & Gonzalez LLP
Osvaldo Torres, Founder, Torres Law, PA

9:00am – 9:50am: Changing Fast: Source of Funds in the FATCA, post-Panama Papers World of Today

Edward Beshara, Managing Partner, Beshara, P.A.
Ed Carroll, Founding Partner, Carroll & Associates
Rana Jazayerli, Partner, Phillps Lytle LLP
Julia Park, Managing Director, Advantage America EB-5 Group
Jinhee Wilde, Principal and Managing Attorney, Wilde & Associates, LLC

10:30am-11:20am: Prepare for Success: USCIS Compliance Audits & Site Visits of Regional Centers

Jessica Denisi, Associate, Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP
Bob Kraft, Director, IIUSA; CEO, FirstPathway Partners
Dawn Lurie, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Devin Williams, President, EB5 Global
Julie Wood, CEO, Guidepost Solutions LLC

10:30am-11:20am: Think Global, Act Global: Which Investor Markets are Worth Your Time (and Which Aren’t) & Why

Rupy Cheema, Co-Founder and Senior EB-5 Business Analyst, EB5 Diligence
Mark Davies, Global Managing Partner and Founder, Davies & Associates, LLC
Julian Montero, Partner, Arnstein & Lehr, LLP
Adrian Pomeroy, Business Development Specialist, EB5Investors.com
Irina Rostova, Partner, Rostova Law Group

11:30am – 12:20pm: Year of the Rooster: Can EB-5’s Largest Investor Market Continue to Rise & Shine?

Kelvin Ma, Partner, Shanghai Demei Law Firm
Larry Wang, President, Welltrend United
Howard Wu, CEO, Can-Achieve Exit-Entry Services Co., Ltd
Jenny Zhan, President, Good Hope Investment Services (CreditEase)
Rachel Zou, Chairperson, Lianhong Overseas Consultants Service Limited

11:30am – 12:20pm: Banking in EB-5: Considerations, Opportunities, Challenges, Solutions

Jill Jones, Senior Counsel, NES Financial
Oleg Karaman, Relationship Manager, Signature Bank
George Maroulis, Executive Vice President, Customers Bank
Mark Morley, President and CEO, Education Fund of America, LLC
Steve Shpilsky, Co-Founder, CaRE EB-5 Regional Center