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Top 5 Economists
Announced on December 17, 2024, Kim was awarded the 2024 Top 5 Economists badge from EB5 Investors Magazine.
Vermilion Consulting would like to thank EB5 Investors Magazine for their recognition and continued support of our work. We take pride in our business, and strive to provide customers with reasonable results and industry insight.
Announced on September 5, 2023, Kim was awarded the 2023 Top 5 Economists badge from EB5 Investors Magazine.
Vermilion Consulting would like to thank EB5 Investors Magazine for their recognition and continued support of our work. We take pride in our business, and strive to provide customers with reasonable results and industry insight.
Announced on October 18, 2022, Kim was awarded the 2022 Top 5 Economists badge from EB5 Investors Magazine.
What do you think about the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022?
I’m relieved that Congress has finally authorized the regional center program for an extended period. Although some of the language in the bill could have been worded more clearly, I believe we now have a set of workable rules for our industry. My hope at this point is that USCIS steps up and provides clarification with a new, well-considered regulation, and that the adjudication process begins to move again. After that, I hope Congress can work out the visa situation and put the EB-5 program on the same footing as the other immigration programs.
What new types of projects and trends are you seeing in the EB-5 industry?
Since the passage of the Act, many clients have approached us to help them apply for new regional center geographies that are considerably larger than what they had before. This makes sense on two levels. First, the larger geographies allow the regional centers to capture rural areas they might not have considered important in the past. The new, legislative emphasis on rural projects is certain to encourage this approach across the industry. Second, with the creation of the “integrity fund” and its large annual fee per regional center, it’s wise to request as much geography as possible.
Announced on May 10, 2021, Kim was awarded the 2020 Top 5 Economists badge from EB5 Investors Magazine. Due to the pandemic, the Top 5 Economists award was combined between 2020 and 2021.
Vermilion Consulting would like to thank EB5 Investors Magazine for their recognition and continued support of our work. We take pride in our business, and strive to provide customers with reasonable results and industry insight.
Announced on April 8, 2020, Kim was awarded the 2019 Top 5 Economists badge from EB5 Investors Magazine.
Vermilion Consulting would like to thank EB5 Investors Magazine for their recognition and continued support of our work. We take pride in our business, and strive to provide customers with reasonable results and industry insight.
Announced on July 22nd in 2018, Kim was awarded the 2018 Top 5 Economists badge from EB5 Investors Magazine.
WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
In 2009, I was hired by USCIS as the agency's first economist. After a short time there, I was asked to launch and lead a new division within USCIS focused on economic and statistical analysis. While my duties ranged from procurement oversight to regulatory analysis to special projects for leadership, my mostinteresting task was to train and advise EB-5 adjudicators on economic impact studies, business plan review and unemployment analysis. Once I left government employment, it made sense to incorporate EB-5 work into my overall consulting practice.
WHAT NEW TYPES OF PROJECTS AND TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY?
Given recent uncertainties in our industry, I have seen a shift toward pursuing rural projects and obtaining approval for regional centers that include extensive rural areas. More importantly, since the SEC has started to enforce securities laws within the EB-5 industry, and USCIS has begun to terminate unlawful and unproductive regional centers, it seems the industry is shedding many entities that probably should not have been in EB-5 in the first place. As a result, project quality has improved significantly as well-educated professionals enter the industry.
