EB5 Investors Magazine "Top 25 Awards Edition" Volume 8 Issue 1 | Page 70

TOP ECONOMISTS JEFFREY CARR J effrey B. Carr is president and senior economist of Economic & Policy Resources, Inc. (EPR), and he and the EPR team of professionals have worked extensively in the EB-5 industry as economists and business plan writers for over 20 years. In addition to EPR’s national economics and business plan writing practice, Carr has lectured on the EB-5 program throughout the U.S. and China, and has completed more than 300 assignments under the program, including impact studies, business plans, TEA analysis opinions, and regional center business-operations plans. Carr also has served on the IIUSA Public Policy Committee since 2013. WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY? While our first EB-5 assignment was in 1997, EPR made a strong commitment to the EB-5 program in 2004. Since then, we have worked along with other EB-5 professionals to help developers complete projects when other avenues were not available. At the same time, we also saw the program as a good way to assist Stephen Yale-Loehr ECONOMISTS EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE immigrant investors to realize their goal of permanent U.S. residency. This work built upon our extensive experience with conducting economic impact studies, and it also utilized our extensive litigation experience as expert witnesses. Putting the two together made sense to us as a win-win proposition. WHAT NEW TYPES OF PROJECTS AND TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY? The industry has been impacted by the combination of the COVID pandemic, uncertainty surrounding the litigation relating to 2019 DHS regulations, and the upcoming sunset of the regional center program. Even so, we are seeing some renewed interest in the program—with the assumption that something workable will happen regarding the regional center program’s reauthorization. However, this new interest appears fleeting, and many experienced participants are taking a “wait and see” approach. If there is a positive outcome for reforms and this includes an increase in visa availability, the future looks much brighter for the regional center program going forward. Nicolai Hinrichsen Miller Mayer would like to congratulate Stephen Yale-Loehr and Nicolai Hinrichsen for being listed as Top 25 Attorneys by EB-5 Investors Magazine. We are proud to have our dedicated EB-5 attorneys recognized by EB-5 Investors Magazine! Ithaca, New York | www.millermayer.com 70 EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE