（杂志截图）

    The 386-acre wheat farm near Walla Walla, Washington, purchased by winemaker Justin Wylie, has been transformed into a vineyard and resort with help from Chinese investors.

    Some years ago, winemaker Justin Wylie discovered what he thought would be perfect growing land north of Walla Walla, Washington.

The former wheat farm of 386 acres that he purchased had all the ingredients for growing great grapes. The only problem was the money needed to convert the land, and that seemed insurmountable. Banks were not interested. His dream looked busted. Then one day he learned about an obscure federal program that allows wealthy foreign nationals to gain visas if their investments created verifiable new jobs in the U.S.

    Today, on the rolling Palouse hills rises a vineyard and resort complex called Eritage. The vineyard is producing “fantastic fruit” and luxury suites will open this year. What caused the change? Money from wealthy people in China who invested in the project through EB-5, a program created in 1990 and so named for the fifth-based preference visa the participants receive.

    To receive visas, immigrant investors must put up $1 million (or $500,000 in targeted distressed areas of need) in new enterprises that benefit the U.S. economy by generating at least 10 full-time jobs. Since the program began, the U.S. government estimates more than 11,000 immigrants have invested $5.8 billion in 562 projects that generated 174,000 jobs.

    By some estimates, EB-5 provides about 30 percent of capital needed for a project. Two Washington projects with EB-5 money include The Lodge at Columbia Point in Richland and La Quinta Inn and Suites in Tumwater. The federal agency that administers EB-5 does not track investments by sector, such as farms.

  Justin Wylie

    Wylie, founder of Va Piano Vineyards, said the funding through an EB-5 program requires expenses, time and complex paperwork, but it represents an attractive source of alternative funding for growers. “It’s been great,” he said. “My group has been great from the beginning. There haven’t been any issues.”

    Tobin Butcher, a principal with the Bridge Capital financial company in Seattle and a consultant for EB-5 projects in Washington, said agriculture can be very attractive to foreigners, but the sector is less active because farming is more of a closed community and it is difficult for investors to know what projects are available.

    Butcher said many of his projects involve Chinese investors, but EB-5 is open to any qualifying foreign participant. Butcher’s company has an office in Beijing and soon will open an office in Ho Chi Minh City because Vietnam has generated considerable new wealth and potential EB-5 investors. “Vietnam is China 12 years ago,” he said.

   Should you pursue it?

     Before U.S. growers start practicing their Mandarin, there are some cautions.

    For starters, navigating EB-5 is complex and requires professional consultants. Second, while the EB-5 program may provide an alternative source of capital, it does not change the basic principles of farm economics.

    For example, Wines & Vines magazine reported in early 2017 that one of Washington best-known winemakers, Allen Shoup, was looking at buying 500 acres for a vineyard near Walla Walla using some financing from EB-5. Months later, he said the deal never went through because the land costs were too high. Even so, Shoup, of Long Shadows Vintners, wouldn’t rule out considering EB-5 again.

    EB-5 as a concept works for vineyards, he said, in part because wine growing areas in Washington could classify as economically distressed. To have a better shot at meeting the job-creation requirement, a vineyard would most likely need a winery.

     Scheduled to open later this year, the luxury resort at Eritage rises above a 6 million-gallon irrigation pond used by the vineyard.(Courtesy Eritage)

    Shoup said if he were to do an EB-5 project, he would be scrupulous about making sure his foreign investors got reasonable returns and new jobs were really created. He referred to “sleight of hand” issues in some EB-5 projects that have generated controversy, including criticism of the Kushner family, who are linked by marriage to President Donald Trump.

    In May of last year, the New York Times complained in an editorial that the Kushners were highlighting their White House connections to entice Chinese investors to family developments.

The newspaper went on to call the EB-5 program a “scandal magnet” because of fraud and illicit sources of foreign money.

    In a response to the editorial, a spokeswoman for a trade group known as the EB-5 Investment Coalition agreed that reforms were needed to prevent fraud and protect national security, but the program as a whole was a valuable generator of new jobs and investments in neglected communities.

    Eritage in Walla Walla has seen none of those problems.

    Wylie’s stalled hopes for a vineyard gained life when a group called American Lending Center (ALC) bought his land for $2.3 million, modified the business plan to better fit EB-5 requirements, and brought in needed capital.

    Based in Long Beach, California, ALC has done about 65 projects with EB-5 money for a total investment of about $250 million, mostly in new hotels. Its president, Bruce Thompson, is a former California state assembly member and a former regional administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

    Thompson estimated ALC’s total investment in Eritage to date at $20 million. EB-5 investors provided about $13.5 million, he said. Eritage is the only agricultural project ALC has done in Washington, and he’d like to do more. “We’d love to talk to farmers about doing projects in Washington,” he said.

    Wylie is happy with his relationship with ALC and the Chinese investors

    “I know there’s been a lot of bad publicity both in Seattle and New York, but this group has been very honest, and it’s been a true honor to work with them.”

    Wylie hasn’t met all his investors, just some who visited Walla Walla to see what he’s planted, mainly out of curiosity. As passive investors, the Chinese made no decisions on what is planted or other operational issues.

    Wyle said the quality of the grapes he’s raising is excellent. He’s planted a large number of varieties, including Malbec, Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and others. His Chinese investors are pleased with what they’ve seen, said Wylie, though their top priority isn’t a beautiful resort and winery — or even profit on the loan.

    What they really want is that visa.

                                            —by O. Casey Corr

    酿酒师Justin Wylie购买的位于华盛顿Walla Walla附近的386英亩麦场已经在中国投资者的帮助下建成了一个红酒庄园度假村。

    几年前，酿酒师Justin Wylie发现了华盛顿Walla Walla以北这块他认为完美的种植土地。

    他所购买的这386英亩麦场拥有种植葡萄的所有原料。唯一的问题是开发土地所需的资金，而这似乎是不可逾越的。银行不感兴趣。他的梦想破灭了。有一天，他了解到一个联邦政府计划，如果外国人的投资在美国创造了新的工作机会，外国人可以获得美国绿卡。

    如今，在帕洛斯丘陵起伏间建起了一座名为E’ritage的红酒庄园度假村。这座葡萄园正在生产“美妙的水果”，度假村于今年将开业。是什么带来了这个变化？这些投资款来自中国富人，他们通过EB-5投资于这个项目，EB-5是1990年政府创建的一个计划，代表第五种优先签证的名称。

    要获得签证，移民投资者必须在有利于美国经济发展的新企业中投入100万美元（或50万美元用于高失业率区的企业），创造至少10个全职工作岗位。自该计划启动以来，美国政府估计有超过11,000名移民为562个项目投资58亿美元，创造了174,000个就业机会。

    据估计，EB-5提供项目所需资金的30％左右。两个位于华盛顿州的EB-5项目，包括在Richland的哥伦比亚点度假村以及在Tumwater的La Quinta Inn and Suites酒店。管理EB-5的联邦机构不按照类别（如农场）跟踪具体投资情况。

Justin Wylie

    Va Piano Vineyards的创始人Wylie表示，通过EB-5项目获得的资金需要费用，时间和复杂的文书工作，但对于农场主来说是非常有吸引力的替代资金来源。 “一直以来都很棒，”他说。 “我的团队从开始到现在都很棒。没有出现过任何问题。”

    西雅图Bridge Capital金融公司的负责人，华盛顿EB-5项目顾问Tobin Butcher表示，农业对外国人来说可能非常具有吸引力，但该部门不太活跃，因为农业更像是一个封闭的社区，投资者很难知道有哪些可投资的项目。

    Butcher说，他的许多项目涉及中国投资者，但EB-5对符合合格的任何外国人开放。Butcher的公司在北京设有办事处，不久将在胡志明市设立办事处，因为越南已经产生了相当可观的新财富和潜在的EB-5投资者。 “越南就是12年前的中国，”他说。

    你应该做EB-5项目吗？

    在美国农场主开始练习中文之前，有一些需要注意的事项。

    对于初学者来说，要全面了解EB-5是非常复杂的，需要专业顾问。其次，虽然EB-5计划可以提供另一种资金来源，但它并没有改变农场经济的基本原则。

    例如，Wines＆Vines杂志在2017年初报道说，华盛顿最著名的酿酒商之一Allen Shoup正在考虑使用EB-5的一些融资来购买Walla Walla附近的一个500英亩的葡萄园。几个月后，他表示，由于土地成本太高，这笔交易从未完成。即便如此，Long Shadows Vintners的Shoup也不排除再次考虑EB-5。

    他表示，EB-5这个概念在葡萄园中很适用，部分原因在于华盛顿的葡萄酒产区可能会被归类为高失业率区。为了更好地满足创造就业的要求，葡萄园很可能需要一个酿酒厂。

    E’ritage红酒庄园度假村计划于今年开业，图片为葡萄园储蓄的600万加仑灌溉池。 

    Shoup表示，如果他要做EB-5项目，他会小心确保他的外国投资者获得合理的回报，并能成功创造新的就业机会。他在一些引起争议的EB-5项目中提到了“诡计多端”的问题，包括批评Kushner家族，他们与Donald Trump总统有联婚。

    去年五月，纽约时报在一篇社评中抱怨说，Kushner强调他们与白宫的关系，以吸引中国投资者参与他们项目。

    由于欺诈和非法的外国资金来源，该报继续称EB-5计划为“丑闻磁铁”。

    针对这篇社评，一个EB-5投资联盟的贸易组织发言人认为，需要进行改革以防止欺诈行为和保护国家安全，但是整个计划为那些被忽视的社区提供了新工作和投资的宝贵来源。

    Walla Walla的E’ritage项目并没有任何这些问题。

    当一个名为美国借贷中心（ALC）的团队以230万美元购买了他的土地，修改了原有的商业计划以更好地符合EB-5的要求并引入了所需的资金后，Wylie修建葡萄园的希望重新被点燃。

    ALC总部位于加利福尼亚州的长滩市，已经用EB-5资金完成了大约65个项目，总投资约2.5亿美元，主要集中在新建酒店。其总裁Bruce Thompson是前加州议员，也是美国小企业管理局的前西区局长。

    Thompson估计ALC在E’ritage的总投资为2000万美元。他表示，EB-5投资者提供了约1350万美元。 E’ritage是ALC在华盛顿州唯一的农业项目，他想将来做更多这样的项目。 “我们很乐意与农场主谈论在华盛顿投资项目，”他说。

    Wylie对他与ALC和中国投资者的关系感到非常高兴。

    “我知道在西雅图和纽约都有很多不好的新闻，但这个团队非常诚实，与他们合作真的很荣幸。”

    Wylie没有见过他所有的投资者，只有一些投资者出于好奇访问了Walla Walla，去看他种植的农作物。作为被动的投资者，他们没有参与过关于具体种植什么农作物或如何经营等任何决定。

    Wylie说他正在种植的葡萄质量非常好。他种植了大量品种，包括马尔贝克，梅洛，霞多丽，品丽珠，赤霞珠，西拉等。 Wylie说，他的中国投资者对他们所看到的感到非常满意，尽管他们的首要目标并不是美丽的度假胜地和酒庄 - 甚至也不是贷款利润。

    他们真正想要的是签证。