Us visa scheme runs out of places for chinese investors
Photo: Fifth World Art
The EB-5 scheme, which requires buyers to create 10 jobs as well as invest half a million dollars, has become a popular option for Chinese investors looking for a piece of US real estate. Indeed, Chinese nationals accounted for more than 80 per cent of visas issued through the programmed last year, receiving 6,900 compared to 2004, when just 16 were issued.
As a result of this surge in demand, the EB-5 scheme has run out of places for Chinese appliants, the first time that the 10,000 annual limit has been reached by a nation since EB-5 began 24 years ago.
"It's like the movie house is sold out -- there are no spare tickets left," Bernard Wolfsdorf, founder of immigration law firm Wolfsdorf Rosenthal, tells CNN. "Pretty much all the visas for this year are accounted for."
Why is America's scheme so popular with the Chinese? Experts say it is partly the affordability of the programme: Australia, by comparison, requires $4.5 million of investment to secure residency through its similar scheme. Canada, meanwhile, ended its own equivalent scheme earlier in 2014 after concerns about high demand from Asian investors.
A new financial year begins on 1st October, which will see another 10,000 visas made available for the next 12 months. Demand, though, is expected to be high. Indeed, Wolfsdorf says there are 10,300 pending applications, forecasting up to three years for some to be processed. They will be hopeful of success, though, argues Gary Kenny, Chief Executive Officer of immigration specialist EB5Select.com.
"I don’t think people realise that for US$500,000 the husband, wife and children up to the age of twenty-one qualify to move, live and work in the United States," he tells OPP Connect. "The program has an 86 per cent success rate for the applicants."
Research from the Center for China and Globalization and the Social Sciences Academic Press found earlier this year that, as of 2011, China is the second-largest overseas property buyer in America, as investors enjoy the combination of improved quality of life and fairer financial prospects for their properties.
In terms of volume, though, the country is now the biggest spender in America, according to the National Association of Realtors, splashing $22 billion on US property with an average sale cost of $590,826 - just over the EB-5 visa threshold.
"There's a lot of enthusiasm now to file as soon as possible," adds Wolfsdorf. "If you don't get your ticket now, you're going to wait longer."