RCI FirstPathway Weblog

February 11^th 2010- Over 75 people gathered to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year with the MMAC China Council during their annual cocktail hour.  Honored guests included Chinese Consul General Huang Ping and Vice Consul Generals Maoming Chu and Xiaocheng Wang.

During the event, speakers examined  blossoming Milwaukee/China connections in education, culture, venture capitalism, logistics, technology and many forms of trade. Among the speakers were Secretary of Commerce Dick Leinenkugel, Deputy Commissioner Martha Brown, TEDA Representative Jianning Li, MMAC President Tim Sheehy, China Council Co-Chair Ulice Payne and RCIFPP Partner Dick Zagorski. The resounding theme that guests took away from the event was the importance of cooperation between China and Milwaukee.

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This month the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an official notice granting RCI FirstPathway Partners its fastest I-526 (Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur) approval.

The application, filled September 23rd of 2009, was approved 3 months and 14 days after submission, with no Request for Evidence (RFE).  According to the USCIS website, the average I-526 processing time is currently 5 months.

This approval validates RCI FirstPathway’s world-class process supported by the unparalleled experience of our preferred attorney Lincoln Stone.

RCI FirstPathway Partners would like to congratulate our investor on reaching this coveted milestone in record time.

Beijing China, December 4, 2009- The Canada China Resource Development Foundation (CCRDF), a new non-profit business association intended to foster increased natural resource/energy sector trade and investment between the two countries, was launched at an official ceremony Wednesday at the compound of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).

RCI Capital Group Inc. is the founding incorporator of the CCRDF. Serving amongst founding directors are RCI Capital Group Inc. President John Park, Fred Eden and RCI Bank President, the Honourable John Reynolds.  Seán Riley, RCI FPP Vice President – Marketing, serves as Secretary to the foundation.  RCIFirstPathway Partners is a proud to be an affiliate company of RCI Capital Group Inc.

“The launch of the CCRDF comes at a time when Canada and China are entering a new era of closer relations and cooperation. That includes sharing the abundance of natural resources our two countries enjoy, and working together so that such resources are responsibly developed in adherence to our respective laws and environmental concerns,” reinforced Stockwell Day, Canada`s Minister of International Trade, as he addressed a crowd of Chinese and Canadian officials, dignitaries and business leaders. Other notable attendees included former Chinese ambassador to Canada, His Excellency Mei Ping and his Canadian counterpart former Canadian ambassador, Howard Balloch.

The CCRDF will utilize its member network to promote awareness and better understanding of Canada’s importance as a resource powerhouse, its favorable environment for foreign direct investment from China into the resource and energy sector, developing a transparent understanding of laws and regulations governing foreign investment in Canada, as well as investment opportunities in specific projects.

Upcoming events in early 2010 include a membership drive in both countries, the addition of several more prominent directors, a China visit by Canada’s Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo – his first official visit abroad – followed by a 50-member Aboriginal Team Canada business mission to China and a visit to Canada by a high-profile Chinese natural resource delegation.

CEO and Chairman of RCI FirstPathway Partners Bob Kraft was recently featured in a Washington Post article about the ways in which Wisconsin has embraced cooperation and trade with China. In the article Kraft gives a positive outlook on the mutually beneficial relationship between China and Milwaukee. Mr Kraft is also the co-chair of the MMAC China Council.

Click here to read the Washington Post article

This week Bob Kraft, Chairman and CEO of RCI FirstPathway Partners,  signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of  Taiyuan in the Shanxi Province.  The MOU shows support for RCI FirstPathway Partners’  EB5 efforts  and serves to foster trade between the Milwaukee region and Taiyuan.  This endorsement is forecasted to bring many immigrant investors to Milwaukee and grow business relations between the regions.

Bob Kraft also hosted a sucessful seminar at the Taiyuan World Trade Hotel on Friday, November 6th.

Click Here to View the MOU

Congress has approved legislation to extend the EB5 “investor visa” program 3 years as part of the DHS FY2010 Appropriations Bill.

This will extend the EB-5 Visa Program through October 1, 2012.

RCI FirstPathway Partners CEO, Bob Kraft will host guests in the US Pavilion at the first official China Overseas Investment Fair sponsored by the China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The event will take place at the China World Trade Center, Beijing November 3-4, 2009. We are excited to be a part of this event.

Last week PSA in conjunction with RCI FirstPathway Partners hosted a seminar on EB5 at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel in Manila. This marks the first of many successful seminars in the Philippines.

During his stay RCIFPP, VP of Compliance, Dan Wycklendt also visited  agents throughout the area.

This week RCI FirstPathway Partners was proud to host celebrated EB5 Attorney Lincoln Stone of Stone & Grzegorek. We look forward to his next visit.

The EB-5 Regional Center Program is on its way to being temporarily extended until October 31st 2009.  At 11:33 am today the house voted on a Conference Report which included legislation to enact a one month continuing resolution for the EB5 Regional Center program.  Many forecast that congress will uses this extension as a bridge during the development of a permanent program.