Sen. Feinstein, you are wrong! The EB-5 Program IS what America stands for!"4.4 million people are waiting in line to come to this country. More than 97 percent of these are family members of American citizens or lawful permanent residents who have been approved to enter the country but are unable to secure a visa due to the backlog. Others are seeking employment-based visas. ...Simply put, EB-5 sends a terrible message to the millions of immigrants patiently waiting their turn to enter the United States legally to be reunited with their families or for legitimate employment. It says that American citizenship is for sale, and that's not what our country stands for. The program is also susceptible to fraud and abuse." Let's break down her arguments: 1. "The program is also susceptible to fraud and abuse." Generally speaking, there will always be people who are looking to game the system - no matter what it is. Senator Feinstein wants us to believe that because the EB5 Program may be susceptible to fraud and abuse that we should simply do away with it. This argument falls flat on its face. Any system or program will have installed within it a series of filters and procedures by which every application is checked and properly adjudicated to ensure proper compliance. A few applicants whose intent is to "game" the system may fall through the cracks. But, that only means the government has to be vigilant in its adjudication of the EB5 Applications. It does not follow that the EB-5 Program should be allowed to end, as Sen. Feinstein is calling for. This is clearly a weak argument made by the Senator. But she did make a strong case for reforming family-based immigration, no doubt. 2. "American Citizenship is For Sale": This is simply bluster and political posturing to please her constituents who oppose the EB-5 Program altogether (and she knows it). American citizenship is not for sale and never has been. There is no guarantee that by simply bringing in the required capital that the investor will automatically get his/her petition approved and thus get his/her Green Card. These funds are put in Escrow until the petition is approved. What is the Message of the EB-5 Program? INVEST IN AMERICA! "INVEST IN AMERICA" is the message that EB5 sends. It attracts the necessary foreign investment into the United States that every nation needs in order to be strong. We are asking them to make an investment in America, and in turn America will give them a return on their investment. Hasn't this always been America's motto? Work hard, it will pay off! How is this different? This is not selling American citizenship! This is what builds America - immigrants who come here with their money and their ideas (whether they are rich or poor) to make America great! Every Nation MUST Attract Foreign Investment: Every nation has some sort of immigration program in place to encourage investment by immigrants. The Wall Street Journal highlights an Australian program similar to the EB5 Program allowing immigrants to bring in $5Million dollars in investment into Australia. The program allows them to invest their money, stay in Australia for up to four years and then they can adjust their status to permanent resident. EB5 benefits Americans. According to that same Wall Street Journal article, "In the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, more than $1.8 billion was raised by the U.S. this way and 7,641 foreign nationals were issued visas, 80% of them Chinese." $1.8 Billion - let that number sink in. That's not small money. If at a minimum each of these immigrants created 10 job (as the EB5 Program requires), that is 76,410 American jobs created. Think how many American families benefited, and how much money got poured into the American economy by these newly employed Americans. Affordable housing woes in Miami can be alleviated by EB5 money coming in from foreign investors. According to Miami's Mayor, Tomas Regalado, affordable housing is the number one reason his constituents contact his office. There is a waiting list of 52,000 people looking to secure affordable housing for themselves and their families. Why wouldn't we make every effort to raise capital and attract foreign investment to develop affordable housing and build our infrastructure. 3. 4.4 Million People are Waiting in Line to Come to this Country: Scrapping the EB-5 program will not alleviate this horrific immigration backlog facing USCIS. By her own cited stats there are 4.4 Million people waiting in line to come to this country. Adding 10,000 visas to these other categories will not alleviate this problem. Meaningful immigration reform must take place to process those backlogged applications filed 23 years ago (as her article states): "As of February 2015, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services was still processing family-related visa applications filed in 1992 — 23 years ago." That tells me that there is something fundamentally wrong with what USCIS is doing -- and it's not the EB5 program. At it's core, the article Sen. Feinstein wrote makes a great case for meaningful immigration reform. And in the same stroke, she made a terrible case to end the EB5 Program. Basically what she is saying in her article is, "It's hard. So, we can't do it." Read it. That's the tenor of her article. She says that confirming where the investor's money is coming from is difficult and she highlights a few examples of fraud, so let's end it. We need to keep America strong and competitive -- and strengthening the EB5 program is just one way to accomplish that. M. Ray Arvand, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney in Manhattan. He is admitted to practice law in the State of Connecticut. |
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