Kushner Companies apologizes for Journal Square project pitch to Chinese investors

The presentation by representatives from the Kushner real estate business also once again raised questions about the family’s business ties overseas, and whether they pose a conflict of interest for Jared Kushner, trusted adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump.

Over several hours of presentations and PowerPoints, company executives described the advantages of the controversial EB-5 program, which provides big foreign investors with U.S. visas and a path to residence for the cost of just a half-million dollars.

The family company issued a statement apologizing on behalf of Meyer if “mention of her brother was in any way interpreted as an attempt to lure investors”. That’s because her husband Jared Kushner, fellow investor in Trump’s Washington D.C. hotel and senior advisor to the president, is also shaking hands with China. “That was not Ms. Meyer’s intention”.

Kushner stepped down as chief executive of Kushner Companies in January.

The visa program is especially popular among rich Chinese desperate to move their assets out of their country amid an economic slowdown.

“They care about the cost, they care about the green card, they care about the security of their investment”, she said.

“During the course of this event, they displayed the president’s image because they were identifying him as a key decision maker on these so-called EB-5 visas”, Hernandez said.

Three months ago, we urged Mr. Trump to join the movement against this program; in the meantime, it has been reauthorized in the omnibus appropriations bill that Mr. Trump just signed – though, in fairness, he affixed his signature not to save the visa program but to keep the government open. (Answer: They can’t.) The only way to stop the conflict might be to stop the EB-5 program altogether, as Sen.

In a promotional text message seen by Reuters, Qiaowai made note of Meyer’s relationship to Trump and called her the event’s “heavyweight honored guest”.

Kushner Companies appears to have learned their lesson from Saturday’s event.

But Kushner remains connected to his company, which has continued to seek investment from China despite Jared’s role in the Trump administration’s China policy.

Kushner officials are also making more presentations next weekend in the southern cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

Some of the changes include raising the threshold of money required to benefit from the program, from $500,000 to $1.35 million for the minimum level, and to tighten the requirements to qualify as a “Targeted Employment Area” – to ensure that such designations are reserved for areas that actually would benefit high unemployment areas.

Workers wait for investors during an event promoting EB-5 investment.

STEVE PARK: Really that’s when EB-5 took off as a viable and robust means to find real estate projects, basically. They accused her of using Jared Kushner’s name to raise funds for the Kushner’s family project. His family’s promotional efforts in China come amid widespread criticism of the EB-5 visa program, which has grown popular among wealthy foreigners seeking to move to the USA but faces allegations of fraud and misuse. “I will continue to press for the elimination of the EB-5 program”, Feinstein said on Monday.

A former White House ethics lawyer, however, disagrees.

The White House has indicated some willingness to follow through on the Obama-era proposals, which some in the real estate industry say are too drastic and could bring investments in the program to a trickle.