Rich invited to US

While many cry to keep illegal aliens out of the US, there are other pathways to US citizenship. Some use the old, come to the US for a few weeks and have a baby born here. The child will be a US citizen and can later come to the US for a free education. Others use the US investment angle. Just by buying a house in the US or starting a US business you can become eligible for a US visa and apply for permanent citizenship.

Many want to move to Miami. Miami has drawn significant interest from both the Latin American elite looking to escape political instability and drug violence — and the developers who want their money.Naturally, many rich criminals are interested in moving there too, as Miami has a reputation for drug trades. But, all states have their draw and immigrants are investigating the choices.

By investing $500,000 in a designated high-unemployment or rural area, or $1 million anywhere else, a foreign national and his or her family can obtain conditional EB-5 visas that become permanent if the investment creates at least 10 jobs for two years.

What’s more, experts say, is that the U.S. recession has contributed to a growing EB-5 industry as dozens of private companies seek permission to pool investors’ money in order to finance projects such as hotels and housing developments that can’t get traditional loans from banks. For the foreigners, applying through a so-called EB-5 regional center lets them live in the U.S., put their children through school here and sit back while somebody else manages their investment and worries about fulfilling the job creation requirements.

“It’s access to capital,” said Emilio González, a former director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under President George W. Bush. “It satisfies the U.S. need to create jobs and it satisfies an investor’s need to get a green card for whatever reason.”

In recent months, the Obama administration has promised to streamline the EB-5 process in order to encourage more foreigners to make investments that will create jobs. The program is estimated to have created about 34,000 jobs since its inception in 1990. Meanwhile, two U.S. senators recently proposed a similar program that would grant visas to foreigners who spend $500,000 on real estate as a way to bolster the housing market.

In the 2009 fiscal year, about 1,000 foreigners applied for EB-5 visas, according to USCIS. The number doubled in 2010. And, in just the first 10 months of the 2011 fiscal year, 3,355 foreigners had petitioned for the visa, of which about 1,400 have been approved.

More than half the applicants are Chinese. However, in the past two years petitions from Latin Americans rose by about 71 percent, with Venezuela and Mexico leading the way. Government statistics show that 95 Latin Americans applied for the program in the 2010 fiscal year. Another 163 applied in the first 10 months of 2011. Of these, USCIS approved 44 petitions in 2010 and 68 in 2011.

By Melissa Sanchez and Alfonso Chardy | The Miami Herald