Immigrant Investor Program to Fund Rebuilding of Famous Pabst Brewery and Millhouse

An investment from a foreign national under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa program is reshaping an American staple – the former Pabst brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Work on a new hotel and Hofbrauhaus restaurant in the brewery’s former location could start this summer. USCIS has just approved the first of 30 Chinese nationals who are each investing $500,000 into the project.

This project, which is being spearheaded by Wisconsin developer Gary Gorman, will utilize $15 million in foreign investments to convert the former brewery and mill house into a six-story, 90-room hotel.

Foreign capital is being raised for the project under USCIS’ EB-5 program, which enables foreign citizens to obtain a residency visa by investing at least $500,000 in a U.S. project that would result in at least 10 full-time positions. The EB-5 visa can then be converted into a green card after two years, enabling the investor and their direct dependents to obtain permanent residency in the U.S.

While the first of the 30 investors was approved after a six-month review period, leading Gorman to believe that USCIS believes in the validity of the project, he also cautions that the full approval process is not set in stone. According to Gorman, the federal approval process moves at its own pace.