US EB-5 program helps lure Chinese investors   

美投資移民簽證去年8成給華人 或為美帶來40億投資

美國國內(nèi)安全部數(shù)據(jù)顯示，美國吸引外國投資的EB5簽證計劃為美國引進大量資金，透過這項計劃獲得居留權(quán)的外國人，從2002年開始時的142人，飆漲到去年的7641人，而其中的80%左右的簽證都發(fā)給了華人。 [查看全文]

(ECNS) -- Business policy makers in the United States are luring Chinese investors through the EB-5 (Employment Based Visa, Category 5) program, as China becomes the largest source of participants in the country's "visa-for-cash deal."

The EB-5 program is dominated by wealthy Chinese investors. About 80 percent of the 7,641 immigrants who got visas through the program in 2012 were from China, according to statistics released by the Department of Homeland Security.

With the US economy still relatively stagnant, local governments are eager to attract more foreign investment.

Chuck Schumer, a New York senator who supported granting green cards to Chinese investors through the EB-5 program, once called it a gift to American taxpayers.

In 2010, the development project Navy Yard benefited from the EB-5 program, raising $60 million, much of it from Chinese investors, to help construct an 89,000-square-foot industrial building and complete a host of infrastructure improvements, according to a real estate developer in New York.

The US authorized the opening of a Shanghai representative office in 2012 to provide consultancy for Chinese EB-5 investors.

Under the program, foreign investors must finance commercial projects in the US by investing either $500,000 or $1,000,000 and create at least 10 full-time jobs. They can set up a new commercial enterprise, invest in a troubled business, or invest directly through the EB-5 regional center pilot program.

All investors must undergo a background check, identify the source of their wealth, and maintain the 10 full-time jobs they create. The investor, as well as the investor's spouse and children, can obtain U.S. citizenship after five years.