In an interview yesterday, Joyner said Gov. Benigno R. Fitial is now determining whether these investors can apply for an EB-5 immigrant investor visa.
EB-5 is a visa category in the federal immigration system through which an investor can acquire U.S. permanent residency.
It is available to those investing in a new commercial enterprise that will benefit the U.S. economy and create at least 10 full-time jobs.
The investment should be worth at least $1 million. But if the investment is in “a rural area or an area that has experienced high unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average” the minimum investment requirement will be reduced to $500,000.
Joyner said the Fitial administration is “excited” about the potentials of EB-5 and that is why they are now “aggressively” developing a plan to establish a regional center in the CNMI so investors can apply for such a visa.
“We don’t want the Russian investors to feel that the CNMI government is fooling them,” Joyner said.
He was reacting to the concerns of Russian businessman Alex Sasha who earlier told the Variety that they invested in the CNMI after being assured by local officials that they would be granted “improved status.”
But under the federal E-2 CNMI-only visa regulations, which were announced recently, Sasha said he and the other Russian investors could remain here until 2014 only.
Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio in a separate interview said now that the U.S. Republicans have taken over the U.S. House of Representatives, he will seek their assistance.
He believes that GOP lawmakers are more receptive to the concerns of the CNMI.
“I think these Russian investors should be given the same treatment provided to the Japanese investors here in the CNMI,” said Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan.
