The "American Year" for Chinese Investment Immigration
According to data released by the U.S. Department of State, in the 2009 fiscal year, the number of EB-5 investment immigration visas—which grant U.S. permanent residency (i.e., a "Green Card") through an investment of at least $500,000 (approximately 3.4 million RMB)—increased by three times year-on-year, surging from 1,443 in the previous fiscal year to 4,218. Among these, the number of investment immigrants from China grew most rapidly, reaching 1,979, far exceeding South Korea, which ranked second with 903.
In recent years, the number of applications and approvals for EB-5 visas has been continuously rising. About 70% of such visas approved in fiscal year 2009 came from Asian countries and regions, including China and South Korea.
Currently, China has become the largest source country for investment immigrants to the United States. In fiscal year 2007, the U.S. issued a total of 1,099 investment immigration green cards, of which only 293 were issued to Chinese applicants, while South Korean applicants received over 500. Previously, it would take several months to find clients for an investment project in China, but now, the 200-plus spots for a single project are snapped up in two to three months. Immigration experts predict that the total number of EB-5 visa immigrants approved by the U.S. in fiscal year 2010 will continue to grow significantly, and the proportion of Chinese applicants may rise to around 70%.
Looking back at the history of mainland Chinese immigrating to the United States, from 1980 to 1989, the number of mainland immigrants who obtained U.S. green cards was over 170,000, about 10 times that of the previous decade. From 1990 to 1999, this figure doubled. The "2008 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics" released by the U.S. showed that the number of mainland Chinese immigrants who became U.S. citizens and obtained green cards that year hit a record high, with 40,000 people naturalized alone. In the past two years, the pace of Chinese immigration to the United States has further accelerated.
Uncle Sam Favors Wealthy Chinese
Since the early 1990s, the United States has formulated a relatively flexible investment immigration policy. In 1990, the U.S. Congress passed the "Immigration Act of 1990," which stipulates that foreigners have the right to obtain permanent residency by investing in the United States. There are 10,000 spots for such visas each year, 3,000 of which are reserved for those who choose Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs), which are low-employment areas identified by the U.S. government. According to this program, if a foreign immigrant applicant invests $1 million in the U.S. to establish a commercial enterprise that benefits the U.S. economy, or invests $500,000 in a specific area and creates 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers, they can be issued a two-year "conditional" immigrant visa. Ninety days before the two-year period expires, they can apply to become a permanent resident.
To attract investment immigrants, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has relaxed many conditions since 1996, such as investment methods and the calculation of hired workers. Investors do not need to operate the business themselves; the U.S. has "Regional Centers" for unified investment. As long as the jobs are indirectly created by the "Regional Center," it can be considered that the investor has fulfilled the quota of creating 10 jobs. Investors can also invest through existing U.S. investment funds or use loans to reduce the amount of actual investment.
The U.S. EB-5 investment immigration act was originally set to expire on September 30, 2009. The Obama administration subsequently announced a 3-year extension of the EB-5 Regional Center program, allowing the U.S. to maintain its advantage in attracting investment immigrants. After the financial crisis, U.S. bank credit tightened, causing many commercial development projects to stall due to a lack of loans, making overseas investment the best alternative source of funding. According to statistics from the Association to Invest In the USA (IIUSA), the number of recognized "Regional Centers" across the U.S. has increased from over 20 in 2006 to nearly 100 today.
Multiple Factors Drive the Wave of Immigration to the U.S.
In recent years, the United States has become the preferred destination for Chinese investment immigrants due to its lower investment costs, high success rate, and faster approval process. In terms of application thresholds, the main countries with high success rates for investment immigration are the United States, Canada, Australia, and Singapore, with investment thresholds of $500,000, 400,000 CAD (approx. 2.6 million RMB), 800,000 AUD (approx. 4.7 million RMB), and 1.5 million SGD (approx. 7.5 million RMB), respectively. On June 25, the Canadian immigration department suddenly announced that the investment amount for investment immigration would double from 400,000 CAD to 800,000 CAD, and the asset requirement for applicants would also double from 800,000 CAD to 1.6 million CAD.
In terms of the difficulty of application, U.S. investment immigration only requires that the source of personal assets be "legally obtained" and does not strictly require that the assets must be earned through business operations. In contrast, Canada requires investment immigration applicants to have "successfully operated or managed a business."
In terms of the speed of approval for investment immigration applications, it takes an average of about 5 months for U.S. immigration applicants from filing to obtaining an immigrant visa, which is much faster than similar immigration procedures in Canada and other countries. However, when applying for investment immigration to Canada, Australia, and other countries, there is basically no risk to the investment, and the relevant departments will return the principal after 5 years. But applying for U.S. investment immigration requires bearing greater risks.
Compared with other immigration channels, U.S. investment immigration is relatively a shortcut. Investment immigration has no requirements for the applicant's education, language, age, or business background, making it applicable to a wider range of people.
There is another core reason for the rise of this wave of immigration from China: China's economy is leading the global recovery, increasing the wealth in the hands of Chinese people; meanwhile, the rise in the RMB exchange rate has led to lower costs for investing in the United States.
Most People Immigrate for Their Children
According to U.S. immigration law, once "conditional" permanent resident status is obtained, the investor's spouse and unmarried children under 21 can enjoy the same benefits as formal permanent residents, including the freedom to live and work anywhere in the United States; the ability to sponsor green cards for other relatives; and enjoying benefits for permanent residents when attending school. Immigrant children can attend U.S. public primary and secondary schools for free, find it easier to get into prestigious U.S. universities compared to foreign students, and pay tuition at the resident standard.
Chinese people have always valued education, and the comprehensive education level in the United States is leading the world; about 50 of the world's top 100 universities are in the United States. Immigrants are seeking high-quality education, high welfare, low tax points, a healthy environment, sound laws, safe food, and the convenience of visa-free travel to many countries, with 60% of applicants prioritizing their children's education.
High housing prices in China have also created conditions for investment immigration. Some have even suggested that "Beijingers living within the Second Ring Road have the net worth to qualify for U.S. investment immigration"; some investment immigrants are also looking for an outlet for their capital.
