Returning the full principal to an immigrant investor in the EB-5 visa program is the earmark of a world-class company that manages every phase of the investor program. For CanAm Enterprises, whose EB-5 investments have already repaid $2 billion in EB-5 capital, it’s also the firm’s calling card. The repayment in August 2020 of CanAm’s $350 million EB-5 loan to the development of the Brightline – the only privately owned and operated intercity high speed passenger train in the United States – represents the largest repayment in the history of the EB-5 industry to date. In fact, more than $800 million from eight CanAm investments repaid during the past two years from industry sectors as wide-ranging as hotel, industrial, manufacturing, and commercial real estate.
“Repayment of principal is the final milestone in our promise to our investors when they sign on with us,” said Tom Rosenfeld, President and CEO of CanAm. “We’ve always been proud of our repayment track record but the repayment of these EB-5 loans during COVID is a testament to the best-in-class quality of our EB-5 sponsors and their understanding of the commitment CanAm made to its investors. There have been any number of disruptions to business plans due to COVID, but our borrowers understood that our EB-5 investors also felt that uncertainty, and the importance of repaying on time despite the unprecedented challenges facing the world.”
Indeed, CanAm’s repayment news will continue through the next few months. CanAm expects another three of its EB-5 investments to repay before the end of 2022, including the full repayment of its $130 million EB-5 investment in the MiamiCentral project, representing 260 investors, later in August. A new business, leisure, and transportation hub for the South Florida city, MiamiCentral features a mixed-use development of five buildings, with two residential towers atop a train platform, two office buildings and retail space.
“MiamiCentral will mark the 47th CanAm project repaid and delivers on the true spirit of the EB-5 program – to create a path to immigration by using foreign investment to successfully create U.S. jobs, particularly in areas of America where they’re needed most,” Rosenfeld added.
Both the MiamiCentral and Brightline projects were with Fortress Investment Group. Fortress and its affiliates have collaborated with CanAm Enterprises four times in the past, raising a total of $543.8 million through the EB-5 Program, of which, $480 million will have reached maturity and been repaid in full upon the MiamiCentral repayment in the coming weeks.
“CanAm has helped thousands of immigrant families successfully invest and navigate the often-complex landscape to obtain residency status abroad. For more than three decades, CanAm has approached this responsibility with the integrity that our EB-5 clients need and deserve,” Rosenfeld said.
About the EB-5 Program
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The Program provides qualified foreign investors with the opportunity to earn “conditional” or temporary two-year visas in return for investing $800,000 in businesses located in Targeted Employment Areas that create at least ten full-time jobs for U.S. workers.
