{"id":17220,"date":"2018-06-11T15:53:40","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T19:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=17220"},"modified":"2018-12-28T10:23:32","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T15:23:32","slug":"investor-visa-door-opens-wider-under-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2018\/06\/11\/investor-visa-door-opens-wider-under-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Investor-Visa Door Opens Wider Under Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

America’s\u00a0troubled investor-visa program<\/a> is getting a\u00a0surprising\u00a0and distressing lift from the Trump administration. Instead of tighter\u00a0vetting\u00a0of foreign nationals seeking green cards, more applicants are gaining entry into the U.S. via the so-called \u201cgolden visa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compared with\u00a0the Obama era, denials of EB-5 applications have dropped from 15.3 percent to 7.9 percent, according to new analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is a\u00a0troubling trend for anyone concerned about the integrity of our immigration system. FAIR<\/a>, along with\u00a0multiple media outlets,\u00a0has reported on the national security and fraud\u00a0implications<\/a> of the EB-5 program. The Obama administration set a low standard for admission; it’s alarming that the bar may be going\u00a0even lower.<\/p>\n

Increased approvals of EB-5 visas\u00a0for foreign nationals who effectively buy their way into the country\u00a0merely invite more mischief.<\/p>\n

EB-5 was launched in 1990\u00a0as a pilot program to spur foreign investment in the U.S. Its track record has been dismal: For every $100 of foreign investment in this country, EB-5 accounts for one penny<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It’s still early, though. Approval-denial data are only available for the first nine months of the\u00a0current administration.<\/p>\n

Whatever Trump appointees do, or don\u2019t do, to take administrative control of EB-5, Congress must get serious about\u00a0strengthening the accountability and performance\u00a0requirements of the program it created.<\/p>\n

In a letter to the president last week, Sen. Charles Grassley<\/a>, R-Iowa,\u00a0asserted that EB-5 is “riddled with fraud and serious vulnerabilities that present real national security concerns\u201d and has strayed far\u00a0from its intended purpose.<\/p>\n

If\u00a0EB-5 cannot be mended, it\u00a0must be ended.