SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, March 2, 2010 — Could a single young engineer beat a Fortune 500 company in creating jobs? If that young engineer is Russian-born Sergey Brin dreaming of forming something called “Google,” the answer is Yes.

What if geniuses brought their ideas to Puerto Rico when they emigrated to the United States? Advisory firm Spectrum Group intends to make just this happen through a mission to Washington, District of Columbia, March 3-5, 2010 to support the Startup Visa legislation introduced on February 24, 2010 by U.S. Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN). The bill would provide a path to U.S. permanent residency (“green card”) to foreign nationals that obtain financing from U.S. investors to create U.S. jobs, including Puerto Rico.

“When Davids are beating Goliaths, attracting global innovators matters more than attracting global investors,” said Spectrum Group Managing Partner Cesar “Tito” Montilla. “With the passage of this bill, we will be able to compete for the best ideas in the world.” The Spectrum Group intends to tap its extensive network of local investors to finance entrepreneurial ventures in sectors where Puerto Rico is globally competitive.

The Startup Visa bill proposes to offer immigrant entrepreneurs a two-year visa if they can show that a qualified U.S. investor is wiling to invest $250,000 into the entrepreneur’s venture. If after two years the immigrant entrepreneur can demonstrate the creation of five jobs, $1,000,000 in investment or $1,000,000 in revenue, they would receive permanent legal resident status. More information about the bill is available at www.startupvisa.com.

“If tomorrow every immigrant entrepreneur took their companies back to their home countries, half of Silicon Valley would shut down instantly,” explained Spectrum Group Partner Marcos Polanco, citing research at the University of California at Berkeley. “The secret to economic development today is that these new companies are creating twice as many jobs as old companies.”

About The Spectrum Group:

The Spectrum Group is an advisory firm that over the past 10 years has raised over $100M in private investment to create over 7,500 jobs in Puerto Rico. The firm anchors a network of over 200 accredited investors and focuses on real estate, industrial, media, biosciences, energy and information technology ventures.

Contact: Marcos Polanco

Partner, The Spectrum Group

Phone: 787-529-5892

Email: marcos@clearshore.us

Source: The Spectrum Group

252 Ponce de León Avenue

Suite 802

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00917

Phone: 787-620-1010

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