The United States is selling green cards to wealthy foreigners for large amounts of money, but the program has opened the door for massive fraud schemes, reported AllGov.com.
The Department of Homeland Security operates the EB-% immigration program which allows wealthy foreigners to invest $500,000 to $1 million in an American business. If that business creates at least 10 American jobs in two years, then the investor will be given a green card.
In 2014, the DHS allotted 10,000 EB-5 visas for wealthy foreigners. They were all purchased within a few months, and 90 percent were bought by China residents. “For rich Chinese, a green card is a ticket out of China,” reported CNN. “The broad anti-corruption campaign that President Xi Jinping has waged has also rattled wealthy Chinese.”
The EB-5 program has potentially opened up more opportunities for international scammers and spies to enter the United States. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, they’ve received “more than 100 tips, complaints, and referrals of possible security fraud” as a result of the EB-5 program.
