EB5 Investors Magazine: After your visa application got denied
in Australia, did you immediately turn back to the EB-5 program?
Mr. Yao: Yes. I had been familiar with America for many years,
and, in the meantime, my daughter also wanted to transfer to a
U.S. school. I want to give her the best education opportunities,
and I also want my family to stay together. I reached out to the
migration agencies that specialize in the EB-5 program, and
ultimately decided to work with Shanghai Qianjing Immigration
Company. They had a few different options for me to choose from,
and I ended up investing in the Philadelphia Navy Yard project
under CanAm Enterprise LLC’s regional center, which is managed
by a public-private economy corporation called Philadelphia
Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC). Their director was
also a mayor. Perhaps because I am from mainland China, I tend
to have more faith in a project supported by the government.
EB5 Investors Magazine: Did you conduct your own
due diligence before making the investment?
Mr. Yao: Yes. Although I recognized the public involvements,
I still tried to be extremely careful. I asked a close friend in
Philadelphia to visit the project and figure out the surroundings. Thanks to my English reading ability, I also took a lot of
time to really study the program’s legislation, to make sure the
project was real and promising.
I also went to the regional center’s website and contacted
them to confirm that the agency really signed with F