July 4th Naturalization Celebrations

The first week of July is not just a time for celebrating the birth of the United States of America but also a time to look towards the country’s future and welcome new immigrants as US Citizens. Last week’s Independence Day celebrations coincided with more than 100 naturalization ceremonies, taking place around the country between July 1^st and 5^th.  Some 7,800 people took the Oath of Allegiance and with it the opportunity to “fulfill their dream of becoming US Citizens,” in the words of USCIS Director Mr. Alejandro Mayorkas.

This year’s celebration of citizenship also featured special naturalization ceremonies at sites integral to America’s struggle to maintain independence and defend freedom, including: the USS Midway Museum in San Diego; the Battleship Missouri Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial in Put-in-Bay, Ohio; and aboard the USS Constitution in Boston.

Wailian visits CiF

Pictured above:  Ms. Kristen Laughling (CiF CMO),
Representatives from Wailian,  and Ms. Tricia Bires
(Director of Treasury at UH).

During the week of June 17^th CiF was pleased to host representatives from the Wailian Overseas Consulting Group for a tour of our offices, EB-5 project sites, and the City of Cleveland. CiF has worked with Wailian on several EB-5 projects in the past and was excited to show them the successes we have had and how EB-5 projects were progressing.

The University Hospitals centered around using 

EB-5 funds to partly fund the construction of two new, award winning hospitals in Cleveland. The Ahuja Medical Center is a full service hospital in suburban Cleveland and the Seidman Cancer Center is a nationally recognized facility that offers comprehensive cancer treatments.

Later in the day the Wailian reps toured other projects, including the Flats East Bank project in downtown Cleveland. The Flats Project recently opened, now that the Ernst & Young office tower and Aloft hotel are both online. The Wailian team toured the new office and hotel facilities and met with Flats East Bank developers.

Stephen Strnisha presents at IIUSA conference in Las Vegas

Flats Slide at IIUSA conference

The EB-5 industry trade group, the Association to Invest in USA (IIUSA), held its 3^rd Annual International EB-5 Forum this past June. The conference was held over three days and offered attendees the chance to participate in workshops, take part in lectures, and to develop business relationships with other members of the EB-5 community.

CiF’s executive staff attended the event, both to take advantage of the industry analysis offered and because CiF CEO Mr. Stephen Strnisha was invited to give a presentation on the use of alternative financing, with the Flats East Bank project as a case study. With construction largely completed and tenants moving in, the catalytic Flats East Bank project has become a notable success story in the EB-5 industry. Conference attendees were eager to learn from CiF’s experience how they too could leverage EB-5 investment funds, along with other alternative sources of financing, to make quality large-scale development projects a reality.