When the EB-5 visa program debuted in 1992, members of Congress said it would spur job growth and whip up a significant amount of capital investment from overseas. But despite vigorous support from the real estate industry and a largely supportive Congress, opposition against the program continues to mount. Critics have taken aim at Ponzi-style schemes, murky sources of funding, and vague job creation results as reasons to pull the plug on the dollars-for-visas program.
Now, there’s another argument you can toss into that anti-EB-5 political salad: the program is a big, beautiful door through which President Donald Trump can both enrich himself and those around him, according to several New York State Democrats.