This week the separate and heated debates on immigration, jobs
and infrastructure crystalized around the question of whether, in
some ways, all three can work together. The immigrant investor
program known as EB-5 – not a household name outside of real
estate development circles — is due to expire at week's
end. Congress is racing now to pull off an upgrade to the program
in its final hours. Success will be a sign that lawmakers can find
their way on these bigger issues despite the rhetoric of the last
few months.
EB-5 matters
The EB-5 visa creates a path to a green card for a foreign
national (and their spouse and children) who invests $1,000,000 in
a United States enterprise that is shown to create 10 U.S. jobs. If
the investment is made in a distressed region, the required
investment is only $500,000. In either case, the investments are
not nothing for those like me whose roots include Brooklyn before
it was hip. Typical EB-5 investments could be hotels,
