Future Cleveland development could be hit in crackdown on visas-for-cash program

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A federal immigration program lets rich foreign families come to the United States and stay, as long as they invest $500,000 in job-creating economic development and pass background checks.

The visa-for-cash program is supposed to help down-on-their-heels areas where banks and U.S. citizens might be reluctant to invest, and its promoters say it paid off wildly in cities like Cleveland -- and helped about 1,500 foreigners who invested in the area, mostly living in China at the time, get two-year visas or permanent residency in the United States.

But it's also helped fund upscale developments like shopping centers with Apple stores, Hyatt hotels and offices in relatively affluent places like Westlake and midtown Manhattan. The family of Jared Kushner, son-in-law and adviser to President Donald Trump, used the program to attract $100 million from Asian investors for a 50-story luxury apartment building, Trump Bay Street, in Jersey City, N.J. Trump's name is on the building but he is not an owner.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/04/cleveland_development_could_be.html

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DHS Shuts Down Investor Visa Center Run By Hillary Clinton’s Brother

The Department of Homeland Security has quietly terminated the investor visa center run by Hillary Clinton’s brother, Anthony Rodham.

Rodham’s Virginia Center for Foreign Investment and Job Creation, run out of a small office in McLean, was shut down on Sept. 29 without any fanfare.

USCIS states two reasons a regional visa center can be closed: first, if the center doesn’t submit the required documentation, and second, if the center does not promote economic growth. It’s unclear exactly why the center has been terminated. USCIS did not respond to a request for comment from Law360.

The center shared the same address as Gulf Coast Funds Management, which Rodham used to funnel EB-5 investment to GreenTech Automotive. Rodham used his political clout to email then-director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to fast-track EB-5 visas for GreenTech, a company run by now-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Rodham. McAuliffe resigned shortly before he became the governor in 2013. The EB-5 program offers green cards to foreign investors who pour a certain amount of money into job-creating companies in the United States.

 http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/13/dhs-shuts-down-investor-visa-center-run-by-hillary-clintons-brother/#ixzz4NBYYJx2J

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