(Source: Puget Sound Business Journal Seattle)
A once-obscure federal program offering green cards to wealthy foreigners in exchange for investment in the United States has mushroomed nationwide, with the Puget Sound area being among the most active markets in the country. For years, Seattle and Grant County were the only program participants in the state. Now there are seven designated “regional centers” for the so-called EB-5 immigrant investment program, with more in the pipeline. The newer participants include the cities of Everett, Tacoma, Lakewood and Federal Way, as well as Whatcom County. Additionally, Bellevue real estate developer Michael Christ is seeking approval for a regional center in Renton that would enable him to build a mixed-use residential project at the south end of Lake Washington. Nationwide, the number of regional centers in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ immigrant-investor program has more than quadrupled since last year to 108. Approximately 3,680 foreign investors obtained EB-5 green cards last year, more than 10 times as many as in 2005.
A once-obscure federal program offering green cards to wealthy foreigners in exchange for investment in the United States has mushroomed nationwide, with the Puget Sound area being among the most active markets in the country. For years, Seattle and Grant County were the only program participants in the state. Now there are seven designated “regional centers” for the so-called EB-5 immigrant investment program, with more in the pipeline. The newer participants include the cities of Everett, Tacoma, Lakewood and Federal Way, as well as Whatcom County. Additionally, Bellevue real estate developer Michael Christ is seeking approval for a regional center in Renton that would enable him to build a mixed-use residential project at the south end of Lake Washington. Nationwide, the number of regional centers in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ immigrant-investor program has more than quadrupled since last year to 108. Approximately 3,680 foreign investors obtained EB-5 green cards last year, more than 10 times as many as in 2005.
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