In recent years, Chinese citizens have been driving a surge in investment-based immigration to the United States. According to Chinese-American immigration attorneys, beyond factors such as U.S. immigration policies, high housing prices in China have also created conditions for investment immigration, with some even suggesting that "Beijing residents living within the Second Ring Road possess the net worth required for U.S. investment immigration."
A report on "Global Politics and Security" by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences indicates that China is becoming one of the world's largest sources of emigrants. Statistics from the Beijing Association of Exit and Entry Agencies show that the number of applicants for U.S. investment immigration doubled in 2009, increasing from 500 in 2008 to over 1,000.
According to reports, the required investment amount for U.S. investment immigration is $500,000. Some Chinese-American immigration attorneys believe that high housing prices in China have facilitated this trend. "After some people accumulate wealth, they may feel insecure, and since the $500,000 investment threshold is not excessively high, they opt for investment immigration." He noted that housing prices in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai are quite high, with a 100-square-meter property costing three to four million RMB; therefore, "selling a house is enough to immigrate."
Investment immigration has also become popular because other pathways are difficult to navigate: work visas are hard to obtain, multinational manager visas are subject to strict scrutiny by U.S. consulates, and employment-based second and third preference categories for mainland Chinese applicants face multi-year backlogs. "Many people are no longer willing to wait and are choosing to apply for investment immigration instead."
