HispanicBusiness

With the EB-5 Pilot Program now renewed for another three years, the vetting of investors overseas is now continuing. This vetting primarily consists of verifying that each investor is able to comply with the rigorous provisions of the US Patriot Act and other similar protective regulations intended to insure that foreign capital coming into the US derives from lawful sources. EB-5 regulations also require full investor transparency and diligence to insure that their funds are not tainted. It is up to each investor, not the Company, to provide this evidence. This is a very time consuming effort, for unlike the U.S. where documentation of income is a standard practice and commonplace, some overseas investors are often reluctant to submit to this type of scrutiny, especially in jurisdictions where the local culture and traditions often encourage secrecy where financial matters are concerned. And in many instances where the investor is more than willing to disclose the source of their funds, documentation to prove it is often difficult to substantiate. Thus the vetting of investors to increase our confidence that their visa petitions will be approved by USCIS has presented quite a challenge, but one which we continue to work through.

North Bay CEO Perry Leopold commented, "If it were up to us this would have all been completed a long time ago. But these international and political dynamics are totally out of our control, and so we have to be patient as the process runs its course. Our partner in this EB-5 effort, ACG Consulting, has been working tirelessly through all of these obstacles and headwinds and remains determined, as we do also, to see it through to completion. Their unflinching confidence that we will complete the funding soon continues to bolster our optimism that we will soon achieve the goals we have set for ourselves."

About The EB-5 Program

The EB-5 Program was authorized by the US Congress with the intent to help stimulate the US economy by creating new jobs, especially in rural areas and areas of high unemployment. Congress originally created the fifth employment-based preference (EB-5) immigrant visa category in 1990 by the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990 (the "EB-5 Program") for qualified foreigners seeking to invest in a U.S. business that benefits the U.S. economy by creating or saving ten (10) full-time jobs for U.S. persons. In 1992 Congress created the EB-5 Pilot Program (the "EB-5 Pilot Program") by the enactment of Section 610 of Public Law 102-395 to encourage immigration through the EB-5 Program and the implementation of EB-5 Regional Centers to facilitate new investment.

The EB-5 Program allows foreign investors to legally immigrate to the US by investing a minimum of $500,000 in a new commercial enterprise located within a Targeted Employment Area (rural areas and areas of high unemployment, or "TEA"). If the new enterprise is located outside of a TEA, the amount of the required investment is a minimum of $1,000,000. The law requires that the capital invested will directly benefit the US economy by creating at least 10 full-time jobs for each such investment. The program is administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990, as amended, and Section 610 of Public Law 102-395, as amended. USCIS is currently a division of the Department of Homeland Security.