4 ms·
The worst thing is people aren't paying $500k, they're investing $500k, so probably will get most of it back again. It really costs them nothing.
by rb808 8y ago
The worst thing is people aren't paying $500k, they're investing $500k, so probably will get most of it back again. It really costs them nothing.
- conanbatt 8y agoWould you feel better if they just paid 500k for a visa?
- Scoundreller 8y agoLike a tax? Yes.
- conanbatt 8y agoSo its a quantitative issue for you, not qualitative. If they loaned more without interests its equivalent.
- paulgb 8y agoI feel differently about people cutting the immigration line by paying a tax than by loaning money to a high-end development. It's not about what it cost them, it's about where the money goes.
- jp555 8y agoWhere does the money go as tax? Isn’t most of it paid out to private businesses that supply the government? Maybe payroll is a bigger expense?
- Scoundreller 8y agohttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_spending_in_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_spending_in_the_U... But the government could also cut some other tax, putting a small amount of money into everyone’s pocket relatively equally.
- conanbatt 8y agoThat 0.0001% reduction in income taxes...
- Scoundreller 8y agoBetter than giving a lot of money to a very select chosen few.
- daniel-cussen 8y agoMuch more than that. Comes to around $16 per wage earner.
- conanbatt 8y agoYou can get more by seizing all the property of foreigners directly. After all the US has a strong military.
- Scoundreller 8y agoIsn’t tax vs investment a qualitative issue? We’re talking about direction, not number of dollars.
- conanbatt 8y agoTax dollars go everywhere and anywhere (and often nowhere). To the visa buyer its irrelevant, it has the same cost wherever it goes.
- selimthegrim 8y agoProbably - see http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/1/30/chinas-louisiana-purchase-new-orleans-own-battle-of-algiers.html http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/1/30/chinas-louis... I think some of the money in question even ended up in DC condos.
- tim333 8y agoUsually the 500k is an interest free loan to the developer so it doesn't cost much unless the developer scams you or goes bust which has happened a fair bit. On the other hand it doesn't really hurt the US much to let a few wealthy investors live there.
- Scoundreller 8y agoJust make sure your loan ranks senior enough and you should do okay if they go bust.
- tim333 8y ago>In the last three years, the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission has brought hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of actions against EB-5 fraudsters, including: a $350 million assets freeze against a Vermont ski resort, a $79 million charge against an unregistered Boca Raton, Florida broker-dealer, a $125 million asset freeze against a Seattle skyscraper developer, a $68 million judgment against a U.S. energy company, and an $89 million fraud case against a Chicago immigration attorney. (Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2018/08/20/whats-ahead-for-the-fraud-tainted-u-s-eb-5-visa-program/#4c6459a71618 https://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2018/08/20/what...) One unfortunate thing for the investor is that as well as losing money they can lose the green card and get kicked out.
- z2 8y agoLet's say permanent residency for the family has a value, say $100,000. Can one make a scheme where multiple people pool their money together into a fund, which goes under the name of the lucky EB-5 investor? The EB-5 investor pays $100,000 out of pocket, and this goes to the other investors, who get 20% returns! Essentially, the EB-5 investor uses others as a financing option to buy a green card without needing $500k upfront.
- davchana 8y ago$100,000 is almost there near the correct figure. For context, guys from Punjab India spend upfront $50,000 for journey from home to USA, Via south america & then Mexico, reach US, spend or agree to anything between $10-40k bail bond, start earning & paying off all this.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- bko 8y agoWhy's it bad? I think immigrants bring a lot into this country and we should have more immigrants. And if you're worried about immigrants stressing the welfare system, this method selects for those with greater means and less likely to rely on these programs
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- rescripting 8y agoThis isn't about immigration. It's bad because this program was designed to inject investment in to economically depressed areas with high unemployment, not downtown Manhattan. This also means the investments are not as "risky" as likely was intended. They'll almost certainly make it back, with dividends, because its NYC not rural Arkansas.