Rich Chinese race to apply for a US golden visa: How this works

EB-5 started decades ago as a way to create jobs in needy US neighbourhoods

As members of Congress in Washington debate raising the minimum requirement to obtain a US immigrant investor visa from $500,000 to $1.35 million, concern about the hike has set off a scramble among wealthy would-be participants in China.

“Some clients are demanding that we make sure their applications are submitted before April 28,” the date the programme expires unless extended or amended by Congress, said Judy Gao, director of the US programme at Can-Reach (Pacific), a Beijing-based agency that facilitates so-called EB-5 Immigrant Investor visas. “We’re working overtime to do that.”

China’s wealthy, using not-always-legal means to skirt capital controls