Rich Chinese race to apply for a US golden visa

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (March 27): As members of Congress in Washington debate raising the minimum required to obtain a US immigrant investor visa from US$500,000 ($0.7 million) to US$1.35 million, concern about the hike has set off a scramble among wealthy would-be participants in China.

“Some clients are demanding that we make sure their applications are submitted before April 28," the date the program expires unless extended or amended by Congress, said Judy Gao, director of the US program at Can-Reach (Pacific), a Beijing-based agency that facilitates so-called EB-5 Immigrant Investor visas. "We’re working overtime to do that."

China’s wealthy, using not-always-legal means to skirt capital controls to get their money out and at the same time gain residency in the US, are continuing to dwarf all others as the largest participants in the EB-5 program, despite heightened measures by the Chinese government. 

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