Civitas EB-5 Capital Celebrates Investors' Receipt of Permanent Residency and Full Return of Capital

DALLAS, Jan. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Civitas EB-5 Capital ("Civitas") is pleased to announce that six (6) investor families in Civitas Phoenix Fund, LP, have received unconditional permanent United States residency through the City of Dallas Regional Center ("CDRC") and full repayment of their investment. The CDRC is a public-private partnership between the City of Dallas Office of Economic Development and Civitas.

Civitas Phoenix Fund, LP made an $8.5 million mezzanine loan to the El Fenix restaurant chain in Dallas, Texas, so the 97-year-old restaurant company could open four new restaurants and renovate three existing locations. Founded in 1918, El Fenix is the oldest family-owned Mexican restaurant chain in the United States. The loan was repaid in full in mid-2015.

"At Civitas, we are proud to have played a role in helping these investors complete the immigration process and also fully realize their investment," said Dan Healy, Chief Executive Officer of Civitas. "We are grateful to each of these clients for their trust in Civitas and wish these families well as they continue their lives in the United States. We look forward to delivering similar successes for our more than 1,000 investor families in the future."

When investors pursue an EB-5 investment, they are seeking dual outcomes: completion of the immigration process to become U.S. permanent residents through job creation; and return of (and return on) their capital investment. Less than 5% of the more than 700 approved EB-5 Regional Centers across the country have achieved I-829 (unconditional permanent resident) approvals for their investors.

For immigrant investors, the I-829 petition is the final step in the EB-5 process of becoming lawful permanent U.S. residents. An I-829 petition provides evidence that the investor has successfully met all EB-5 program requirements, including the required job creation. Once the I-829 is approved, the investor's conditional residency restriction is lifted.

Karl Zavitkovsky, Director of Economic Development for the City of Dallas, commented, "This was a great job-creating project for the City, the CDRC, investors, and El Fenix. We are thrilled these investors have received their permanent residency, and we are even more excited that many have chosen to make additional investments in Dallas."

About Civitas Capital Group

The Civitas Capital Group family of companies provides a range of products and services for institutional investors, family offices and qualified individuals. The firm offers U.S. lodging and real estate investment strategies through its Alternative Investments division, while the EB-5 Capital division serves foreign investors seeking permanent U.S. residency in return for investing in a U.S. business that creates jobs for American workers.

For more information about Civitas, please visit civitascapital.com or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CivitasCG.

About City of Dallas Regional Center

Through the USCIS‚ EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, the City of Dallas Regional Center (CDRC) offers qualified foreign nationals job-creating investment opportunities in return for legal U.S. residency. The City of Dallas owns the CDRC. The City has contracted with Civitas Capital Group, a professional investment management firm, to manage the CDRC. The CDRC has attracted more than $300 million in EB-5 capital for job-creating investments.

For more information about the City of Dallas Regional Center, please visit http://cdrc.us

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