Federal Program Offers Investors Visas, a Lot of Risk

Texas companies that handle the deals have legal problems, other issues

Houston Chronicle: It's been billed as a way to get a green card "via the red carpet." Through the federal government's EB-5 investor visa program, wealthy would-be immigrants can sink $500,000 or $1 million into a U.S. project that generates jobs and in a few short years, emerge as lawful permanent residents of the United States. But the rapidly growing visa program is buyer beware. Some Texas companies sanctioned by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as "regional centers" - businesses approved to handle investments for EB-5 visa holders - have dubious track records or are engaged in questionable practices, a Houston Chronicle investigation found. In one extreme case, a Dallas company - the North Texas EB-5 Regional Center - is actively advertising multi-million dollar development projects on land in Farmers Branch tied up in a civil lawsuit and bankruptcy filing. A company executive and two of its officers are named in a pending $72 million civil lawsuit filed by a major bank in U.S. District Court in Missouri, alleging the businessmen created a separate "straw company" in order to transfer debts and file for bankruptcy. A Houston company is in danger of violating the EB-5 program's rules by offering foreign investors deeds to waterfront property to help secure their investments. The EB-5 program requires that immigrant investor money be "at risk" - meaning it's not a loan and could result in a loss. Experts on the EB-5 program say that the type of "assurance" offered by the Houston company could end up costing would-be immigrants a visa or green card down the line. The program lacks transparency. While the government estimates that EB-5 investments have generated $1.5 billion for the U.S. economy since 1990, USCIS does not publicly disclose how well individual regional centers perform. The agency denied requests from the Chronicle for information on which centers have successfully helped EB-5 applicants to receive visas or to become green card holders.