Continued from page 78
trend for them is to want to get out of China and send their
children out of China for higher education. Not only do the
families benefit but also China as a whole. Because the Chinese
are a very interesting people who never forget their Chinese
identity , they go back. For example, with EB-5 - we have families coming to the U.S., typically the wives and children settle,
while the husbands travel back and forth, with many keeping
their business in China. This is a characteristic of Chinese
immigration in that Chinese never 100 percent leave their soil.
EB5 Investors Magazine: Let’s get into that question
we asked about other countries and what you see
for the future of investment immigration in general.
Could you go over what other countries you provide
migration services for and what you expect to see?
Larry: I think the United States still remains very competitive because firstly it’s a super-power country, and it’s an
English-speaking country, and its higher education is still good
and attractive. So people still continue coming to this country.
However, I really hope Americans do not take it for granted
that Chinese will come anyway. Because as I remember, when
we started EB-5 almost ten years, it only took as short as one
day or two to get the I-526 approved. Today, it takes more
than 14 months to process the petition – not to mention
retrogression. So if people want to get their temporary green
card for the whole family, it might take two to three years.
And if they consider their investment return, they might wait
seven to eight years. I think that is a very tedious process,
“… Chinese applicants like real estate
because it’s a tangible thing
they can touch with their hand.”
while some other countries have a much shorter time. For
example, European countries – just now you mentioned
Portugal – and Greece, those countries now provide an
available quick immigration investor system. They guarantee
it. For three months, four months, you can get everything
done. And this is a property-related immigration, which
means as long as you buy out property in those countries,
your family – everyone can get their residence permit.
Take Greece as an example. Greece really has developed
very far. They said if one family gets a green card, the
parents of both spouses can also follow. Which means at
least seven people. Four grandparents, and the mother
and father, and also the child. At least seven people for
one property that they buy. As you know, Greece, now
although it has problems, it’s a beautiful country, and the
prices for the properties are so low these days, and as long
as you purchase a 250,000 EURO-property, you get your
residency permits within three to four months. And this is
a Schengen country permanent residence permit. As long as
you get Greek permanent residence, you can travel within
around 20 different Schengen countries without a visa.
Your neighbor, Canada, although it shut down its doors
for a failed investor program, the Quebec Investor Program
is still open. And next month, Canada will have an election
again. A lot of people think that the Conservatives might lose
their control, lose their power. And if that is the case, then
the federal investor program will come back. And Australia
is another competitor and it’s a great country. Those three
countries – the United States, Australia, Canada – they are all
English-speaking countries. They all attract a lot of Chinese.
The United States also has its own problems. The biggest
problem is taxation, a global taxation. Once you are a
permanent resident of the United States, you will be taxed
on your global income. It doesn’t matter where you live or
where you work. This is something that might affect a lot of
Chinese decisions in terms of where to go. So I think while
the United States remains a very important immigration
destination for Chinese, there are a lot of other choices
the Chinese might consider. Just consider the European
countries and also Union countries. There is one country,
Hungary, now they are selling their national bonds. You
purchased it last year with 250,000 EUROS and this year it’s
300,000 EUROS, for five years. You get your money back
and it takes only several months. The whole family gets their
Hungarian residence cards. So what I’m trying to say is the
United States is really facing global competition. And how
can the United States say co mpetitive? It’s a challenge.
★
80
EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE