EB-5 LEADERS ADVOCACY CONFERENCE 2017

7:00am – 5:00pm: Registration/Exhibit Hall Hours

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

Panelists:

• Adam Greene, President, Live in America Financial Services LLC
• Bill Gresser, Director Emeritus, IIUSA; President, EB-5 New York State, 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

Panelists:

• 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
• Tom Rosenfeld, Director, IIUSA; CEO, CanAm Enterprises
• Steve Yale-Loehr, President Emeritus, IIUSA; Of Counsel, Miller Mayer, LLP

10:00am – 10:30am: Networking Break

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?

Panelists:

• 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 Hauer & Feld LLP
• Leon Rodriguez, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP

12:15pm – 1:30pm: Lunch Served

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

Panelists:

• Jonathan Bloch, Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP
• Dan Healy, Director, IIUSA; CEO, Civitas Capital Group
• Pieter P. Bottelier, Visiting Scholar, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
• Reid Thomas, Executive Vice President, NES Financial
• Abteen Vaziri, Director, Greystone EB-5 Holdings Corporation
• Devin Williams, President, EB5 Global

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

Panelists:

• 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

3:30pm – 4:00pm: Networking Break

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

Panelists:

• 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.
• Clem Turner, Barst, Mukamal & Kleiner LLP

5:00pm – 5:50pm: Strategic Planning in an Era of Increasing Backlogs

Panelists:

• 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

6:00pm – 7:00pm: Reception

Download conference schedule in PDF format at here.

7:00am – 12:00pm: Registration/Exhibit Hall Hours

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

Panelists:

• Allison Berman, General Counsel, Greystone EB-5 Holdings Corporation
• Mary King, COO, New York City Regional Center
• Bradford Stedem, Managing Director, Capital United LLC
• 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

Panelists:

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

10:00am – 10:30am: Networking Break

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

Panelists:

• Jessica Denisi, Associate, Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP
• Bob Kraft, Director, IIUSA; CEO, FirstPathway Partners
• Dawn Lurie, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP

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

Panelists:

• 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 Pomery, 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?

Panelists:

• 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, and Solutions

Panelists:

• Richard Booth, Compliance Officer, Signature Bank
• JIll Jones, Senior Counsel, NES Financial
• Oleg Karaman, Senior Managing Director, Sterling National Bank
• Mark Morley, President and CEO, Education Fund of America, LLC
• Steve Shpilsky, Co-Founder, CaRE EB-5 Regional Center

12:00pm – 2:00pm: Leadership Luncheon (Invite-Only)

2:00pm – 4:00pm: Board of Directors Meeting (Invite-Only)

Download conference schedule in PDF format at here.