[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English,
[00:02.60]this is the Economics Report.
[00:05.69]What do these four things have in common:
[00:08.33]a proposed wind farm in the American state of Washington,
[00:13.31]a gold mine in Idaho,
[00:16.01]a new casino in Las Vegas
[00:19.35]and ski resort expansions in Vermont.
[00:24.22]They're all investment vehicles for wealthy foreigners
[00:28.80]seeking green cards to live in the United States.
[00:33.94]Under American law, foreigners can get such recess
[00:38.37]if they invest at least 500,000 dollars
[00:42.83]to create at least 10 jobs in the country.
[00:47.17]Here is an example of how the program works.
[00:50.96]A few years ago, Jordan Gagner and his wife
[00:55.80]needed to move from their home in Canada
[00:59.48]to a drier climate, like Arizona.
[01:03.52]At first, the possibility of moving south
[01:07.07]of the border permanently seemed unlikely.
[01:11.08]"Being a self-employed wealth manager and a teacher,
[01:15.17]those are two occupations
[01:17.63]that are not on the top 10 lists of visas
[01:22.30]being given to foreigners to come down to the U.S."
[01:25.53]But then he heard about the immigrant investor visa.
[01:29.26]He and several other foreign investors offered $500,000 each
[01:36.24]to build an assisted living center in Bellingham, Washington.
[01:41.52]Mr Gagner was credited with creating lots of jobs
[01:46.50]during the recession and his whole family received green cards.
[01:51.97]Immigration lawyer David Andersson organized the deal.
[01:57.46]"If you have a solid investment
[02:00.05]and there may be a benefit which exceeds mere return,
[02:05.53]such as the ability to move your family to America,
[02:09.56]then an investor may consider a lower return than,
[02:13.39]for example, a bank."
[02:15.74]Mr Andersson has led the way in an industry
[02:19.33]he says is growing quickly.
[02:21.62]Companies that  bringing together investors and possible borrowers
[02:27.00]are officially known as "EB-5 regional centers."
[02:32.33]The name comes from the part of the immigration law
[02:36.71]that set up the immigrant investor visa.
[02:40.56]Some Americans have expressed concerns about the program.
[02:45.93]Landowner Harland Radomske first heard about it
[02:50.61]when a group of wealthy Koreans were invited to invest
[02:55.00]in a wind farm on land next to his property.
[02:59.09]He feared a wind farm would reduce the value of his ranch,
[03:04.37]and there was more.
[03:06.31]"We have all of this controversy going over immigration,
[03:10.69]the borders of Mexico, and all of that,
[03:14.88]issues before the Congress and Senate and so on.
[03:18.58]And now we find out unbeknownst,
[03:20.97]if you're a rich foreigner,
[03:24.46]you can buy your way to citizenship."
[03:27.00]The wind project developers refused many requests
[03:30.88]to tell the side of the story.
[03:33.48]Yet, even with the despite over immigration,
[03:37.71]the foreign investor program has a lot of support in Congress.
[03:43.09]There is also a move to make the program permanent.
[03:48.12]And that's the Economics Report from VOA Learning English.
[03:54.68]I'm Mario Ritter.