Expert: Trump, Congress Can Save EB-5 Investor Visa Program

JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ, New York Times, Apr. 27, 2017- "Lawmakers are discussing the EB­5 program this week as they try to reach a deal on the budget and avert a government shutdown. ... The EB-­5 program, created in 1990, allows foreigners and their immediate relatives to apply for permanent residency in the United States if they invest $500,000 in projects that create at least 10 jobs in rural regions or areas with high unemployment. They can also become eligible by investing $1 million in projects in other areas. The program has been so popular that there is a backlog of more than 20,000 applications, resulting in delays of up to five years for green cards. ... The Trump administration has remained largely silent on the future of the program, though some analysts argue that Mr. Trump may be supportive of it, given his background in real estate. One of Mr. Kushner’s projects, a Trump­-branded luxury apartment tower in Jersey City, received nearly a quarter of its financing, about $50 million, from Chinese investors. “It could be the one immigration program that they are willing to accept,” said Stephen W. Yale-­Loehr, an immigration law professor at Cornell Law School. “If done correctly, it creates jobs for U.S. workers.” "