‘Cash for Visas’ Green-Card Program being restricted in US.

[nancymervin]

‘Cash for Visas’ Green-Card Program being restricted in US.

The US government may be clamping down on a "cash for visas" green-card program that drew fire from critics even while giving a boost to the construction industry in many recession-battered markets.

The program, known as EB-5, gives wealthy foreigners the chance to obtain citizenship by investing between $500,000 and $1 million in ventures as varied as wind farms, ski resorts, gas stations and office towers. Two years after the investment, the visa recipient must prove that his or her money created at least 10 jobs for a chance to apply for US citizenship.

USCIS would be demanding more evidence that certain types of projects, such as office buildings and retail space built for tenants, actually would create new jobs rather than just provide a new building for existing jobs to move into.