A Modest Proposal For Immigration: The $100,000 Green Card

[TBoneTX 45,288]

Getting back to the original point: I don't think that selling green cards for $100,000 is a good idea. Too many narcotraficantes (drug-traffickers) would buy cards either for themselves or for others, si man. There seems too much chance for abuse.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

But you are for prostitution, lol...

http://news.yahoo.com/police-trucker-killed-3-prostitutes-across-south-145423616.html

Maybe I'm missing something, but how does legalized prostitution tie in with illegal aliens ? Prostitution is legal in Germany and Holland and they seem to do just fine with it.

[SMR 368]

Getting back to the original point: I don't think that selling green cards for $100,000 is a good idea. Too many narcotraficantes (drug-traffickers) would buy cards either for themselves or for others, si man. There seems too much chance for abuse.

As someone brought up on the first page, green cards are currently for sale. The price tag is $500k but it takes the form of an investment that has to create a certain number of jobs. You get conditional residency for two years and have adjustment of status after that if you are still making good on the investment requirements. It's called an EB-5 visa. So it's more than $100k but on the bright side you get to keep the cash if your investment goes well. The price jumps to $1 million if you don't invest in one of the specified areas.

While the number of these available is technically limited, the annual limit has never even been approached so it's effectively a green card for sale. Naturally, you have all of the background checks etc. I don't think drug-traffickers would have as easy a time of it as you might think. The process ends up being quite similar to family based immigration. If drug cartels trying to obtain legal documents in the US were such a problem, family based immigration would be a much bigger back door than money based immigration. To a druglord, it's a lot simpler to come up with someone to blackmail into marrying you than it is to part with $100k.

All the same, I don't see this as a good idea, simply because it wouldn't see much use if you look at the EB-5 for a benchmark. In 2009, 4,191 EB-5 visas were issued. I realize that $100k is lowering the bar. However, the OP is suggesting taking the money instead of simply requiring that it be invested in the US in a way that creates jobs. Anybody that has these types of cash on hand isn't living badly anywhere in the world. Of course, if you only have $100k, then you can do this but can't get an EB-5. But assume rational behavior. If $100k is all you've got, is a green card really on the top of the list of things that you would buy. You can probably have a better life with $100k anywhere in the world than you would have broke in the US. On the other hand, getting a green card is a nice benefit if you want to invest in a business in the US. And you still have your business.

The Startup visa act is similar to the suggestion and is mired in congressional committee. Like it or not, it seems to me to be a lot better than the suggestion in the OP on all accounts.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

As someone brought up on the first page, green cards are currently for sale. The price tag is $500k but it takes the form of an investment that has to create a certain number of jobs. You get conditional residency for two years and have adjustment of status after that if you are still making good on the investment requirements. It's called an EB-5 visa. So it's more than $100k but on the bright side you get to keep the cash if your investment goes well. The price jumps to $1 million if you don't invest in one of the specified areas.

While the number of these available is technically limited, the annual limit has never even been approached so it's effectively a green card for sale. Naturally, you have all of the background checks etc. I don't think drug-traffickers would have as easy a time of it as you might think. The process ends up being quite similar to family based immigration. If drug cartels trying to obtain legal documents in the US were such a problem, family based immigration would be a much bigger back door than money based immigration. To a druglord, it's a lot simpler to come up with someone to blackmail into marrying you than it is to part with $100k.

All the same, I don't see this as a good idea, simply because it wouldn't see much use if you look at the EB-5 for a benchmark. In 2009, 4,191 EB-5 visas were issued. I realize that $100k is lowering the bar. However, the OP is suggesting taking the money instead of simply requiring that it be invested in the US in a way that creates jobs. Anybody that has these types of cash on hand isn't living badly anywhere in the world. Of course, if you only have $100k, then you can do this but can't get an EB-5. But assume rational behavior. If $100k is all you've got, is a green card really on the top of the list of things that you would buy. You can probably have a better life with $100k anywhere in the world than you would have broke in the US. On the other hand, getting a green card is a nice benefit if you want to invest in a business in the US. And you still have your business.

The Startup visa act is similar to the suggestion and is mired in congressional committee. Like it or not, it seems to me to be a lot better than the suggestion in the OP on all accounts.

Yep One of our friends here, a couple from Russia, invested $500,000 in a ski resort along with a few other people of various nationalities and they all have green cards. They also built a beautiful house on the lake in Burlington.

They invested in JayPeak ski resort which has now gone from 35 employees to 700 employees! It includes an indoor water park open year 'round, resort, spa, new lift equipment, yada, yada, yada. There were also several Canadians in on the deal and JayPeak is right at the border and is a popular resort with Quebecois. The rumor is the Canadians were trying to duplicate the resort at Mont Tremblanc but for the lower price of admission to be had in the states

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

But you are for prostitution, lol...

http://news.yahoo.com/police-trucker-killed-3-prostitutes-across-south-145423616.html

Of course I am. As is any other thinking person that respects a woman's right to choose. I am also for LEGAL immigration (who would have thunk it?)

So to be clear for those of you that may have voted for Bush by mistake...

I am against ILLEGAL prostitution and ILLEGAL exploitation of humans by employers for profit.

I am for LEGAL prostitution and employment of LEGAL immigrants in legitimate business.