Leigh Cole's Vermont Business Blog

Good News For The EB-5 Visa Program

Leigh Cole — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:31:32 +0000

In an EB-5 Stakeholders Meeting today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) introduced the economist who recently joined the EB-5 adjudications team. What a concept, an actual economist now will be part of the review team at USCIS! The EB-5 immigrant investor program allows individuals who invest $1 million, or at least $500,000 in a Targeted Employment Area, to obtain permanent residency for themselves and their spouse and unmarried children under age 21. Each EB-5 petition must include an expert opinion from an economist forecasting the economic development and job creation or maintenance that will result from the EB-5 investment based on accepted economic modeling methodology. So an economist is a welcome addition to the USCIS review process, at least in concept. It will be interesting to see if this new level of review will change the substance or tone of USCIS decisions on EB-5 petitions. Let's hope the economist's participation will faciliate solid and well articulated economic analysis of EB-5 cases, not merely complicate the process with another layer of review at USCIS.

Tapping Tech in Vermont

Leigh Cole — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:30:22 +0000

Jeffrey J. McMahan, Esq.

The creative economy is boiling away in Vermont and high-paying jobs are sugaring out. Alright, that’s a poor play on words to introduce you to Tapping Tech, the 32 page booklet about Vermont’s technology industries brought to you by the Vermont Software Developer’s Alliance (vtSDA). (In the interest of full disclosure, I recently joined the board of vtSDA, but cannot claim any responsibility for the great work that went into Tapping Tech). Tapping Tech, which profiles twelve Vermont-based technology companies, was put together by vtSDA to highlight the high tech industry in Vermont and its substantial contribution to our economy. Read the full post....

Way To Go Dinse!

Leigh Cole — Mon, 24 May 2010 13:43:38 +0000

Last week was the Way To Go! Commuter Challenge in Vermont, when commuters are challenged to leave their car at home for at least one day in the work week and hopefully all five days if possible. Rural ife is based around the automobile so leaving a car at home truly is a major challenge for most Vermonters. This year 30% of our firm participated! We are a firm of 54 employees and 17 of us are willing to leave a car at home given our current life circumstances, which is a very strong showing of support for the environment and a healthy lifestyle. Read the full post....

The First Globals Generation

Leigh Cole — Thu, 20 May 2010 10:48:26 +0000

I recently learned about the "First Globals Generation" in an article in International Educator magazine, published by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. I immediately recognized my two sons in that term describing the current generation of 18-30 year olds. Apparently the term "First Globals" was coined by John Zogby, founder of Zogby International, a global consulting firm out of Utica, NY. This led me to Mr. Zogby's web site, www.zogby.com, where I learned that he is the son of a Lebanese immigrant and he is interested in many of the topics that interest me, such as the role of small business in the global economy and the role of small rural communities in the creative economy, a subject of the writings of his friend Richard Florida (see his recent remarks to the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce). But back to First Globals. According to the interview with Mr. Zogby in International Educator, the First Globals are the first generation to see the world as their home, whether or not they have traveled, due to the free exchange of information and ideas through the internet, television and global online social networks which have existed throughout their lives. Read the full post....

Immigration Lawyers And The International Community

Leigh Cole — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 01:40:11 +0000

People intuitively understand that immigration lawyers work with the international community but many don't understand what that means. I particularly enjoy immigration practice because the international community is vibrant and fascinating, a very engaging group of professionals, students and scholars. The international community is responsible for a very large amount of economic activity in the United States. We have a national immigration practice but let's look just at our neighborhood, Vermont. The Immigration Policy Center of the American Immigration Council recently issued a state-by-state report on immigrants in the United States. The data for Vermont offers insight into demographics of the international community in a rural state rich with higher education opportunities. Read the full post....

Breakfast Briefing: Social Media in the Workplace

Leigh Cole — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:18:12 +0000

If you don't read legal journals, you may not realize that social media like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and others raise interesting legal questions for employers. So our Employment Group is hosting a Breakfast Briefing on Social Media in the Workplace on April 13, to help clients and friends of the firm understand the legal implications of social media for employers. Our Employment lawyers will discuss topics including use of social media in hiring and recruitment and employee personal use of social media during work hours. Our Breakfast Briefings are from 8:00 - 10:30 and as the name suggests, continental breakfast is served. Interested parties can contact Jessica Beaulieu at our office, jbeaulieau@dinse.com, with questions or to sign up.

Proposed EB-6 StartUp Visas for Entrepreneurs

Leigh Cole — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:45:13 +0000

U.S. Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) recently introduced legislation to create a new EB-6 immigrant visa (green card) category for entrepreneurs. The current EB-5 visa program is for international investors who inject at least $500,000 or $1,000,000 into a U.S. business venture which meets eligibility criteria for factors such as job creation. Under the StartUp Visa Act of 2010, the EB-6 visa would be for entrepreneurs who are funded by venture capitalists or angel investors. The minimum EB-6 investment from qualified U.S. investors would be $250,000 (or at least $100,000 per EB-6 visa applicant). Read the full post....

Social Responsibility Can Save Money

Leigh Cole — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:13:33 +0000

Our firm's Social Responsibility Committee has been working hard and we have proven a standard Corporate Social Responsiblity (CSR) maxim that being a socially responsible business can save money. Our SR Committee identified our weekly deliveries of water in large plastic bottles for our water coolers as an area in which we could improve our level of CSR. For businesses that have reliable access to satisfactory munipal water, deliveries of water to the office involve additional truck traffic to our downtown location, truck exhaust emmisions, use of truck fuel, plastic containers that must be replaced periodically, water and chemicals to sanitize recycled plastic containers for re-use, and so forth. We converted to a filter system to replace our water coolers with plumbed-in filter spigots dispensing cold and hot filtered water directly from our city water. Read the full post....

EB-5 Investor Visas and Securities Law

Leigh Cole — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:23:10 +0000

Leigh Polk Cole, Esq.

The EB-5 program allows international investors to obtain permanent residency in the United States (green cards) for themselves and their immediate family by investing in a new or struggling business venture in the United States. The State of Vermont was approved one of the first Regional Centers some years ago. The Regional Center here is administered by the State of Vermont which is a unique feature compared to other Regional Centers in the nation which are administered by private organizations. With the current challenges in the U.S. economy, more and more U.S. business interests are looking to EB-5 investors from outside the United States as a source of capital, and international investors are responding.

EB-5s have become a hot topic in Vermont and across the nation, leading to a realization that investors, lawyers and EB-5 project sponsors are not necessarily aware of the related Securities law compliance obligations. Read the full post...

VT Tax Credits for Commercial Solar Systems

Leigh Cole — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:46:22 +0000

David R. Gurtman, Esq.

Continuing my discussion of energy-efficiency tax credits at the local, state and federal levels, today I am highlighting an incentive unique to Vermont. It is the Business Solar Tax Credit, available for both business and individuals. Read the full post...