The Washington Post reported today that number of foreign nationals who have applied for permanent residence (a green card) based on their investment between $500,000 to $1 million in a U.S. business has approximately tripled in the past fiscal year.
The rise in the number of applications have been the result of businesses that are in need for cash to either stay in business or to sell. Many of those buesinesses with the help of local governments have been attracting wealthy foreign investors through a rarely used provision of the immigration law.
The EB-5 immigrant visa program is a program that foreign nationals can enroll in to apply for permanent residence if they can show that their investment has created or preserved at least 10 jobs for U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
The article reported that the number of foreign nationals (investors and their dependents) who obtained immigrant visas under this basis went from 1,443 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 to 4,218 in FY 2009 fiscal year according to the U.S. State Department.
In an economy that is downturning, this is clearly an opportunity for foreign national investors who have the means and the commitment to infuse capital into an ailing business or to start a new one with the goal of creating employment for American workers.
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