Chinese applicants for US investor visas reach annual limit  

中国赴美投资移民首现财政年度结束前名额用磬

据美国《世界日报》报道，美国国务院23日宣布，2014财政年度的中国投资移民名额(EB-5)已经全部用罄，这也是美国从1990年实施这项法案以来，第一次出现中国名额在财政年度结束前就用光的情形。[查看全文]

(ECNS) – The EB-5 visa program has been overwhelmed by wealthy Chinese people eager to get US green cards, the World Journal reports.

Charles Oppenheim, of the US Department of State, announced on August 23 that the program had already reached its quota for Chinese nationals applying for investor-immigrant visas for fiscal year 2014, which ends on September 30.

Oppenheim said it's the first time the number of Chinese applicants has reached the limit since the program started in 1990.

Any foreigner willing to invest at least $500,000 and create 10 jobs in the US is eligible to apply for an EB-5 visa.

Brian Su, director of Artisan Business Group, a consulting firm focusing on Sino-US trade and investment, said the program is limited to 10,000 visas each year. In fiscal year 2014, more than 8,000 were granted to Chinese investors and their spouses and children. That's a massive surge from 2004, when only 16 of the visas were issued to Chinese people, he said.

Su added that the time to obtain an EB-5 was only five months two years ago, and now it takes more than a year. A longer wait will definitely occur next year, he said.

According to the Association to Invest in the USA (IIUSA), in 2013, total investment by foreign investors reached $1.83 billion, and Chinese investors contributed to over 80 percent of that.

Big projects sponsored by Chinese investors include the Barclays Center at the Atlantic Yards Project in Brooklyn, New York, and the San Francisco Shipyards project.

Applicants who have already scheduled visa appointments will be unaffected by the announcement.