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How to Woo Chinese Investors: With Visa Offers and the Trump Name - The New York Times

posted onMay 20, 2017
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Article snippet: BEIJING — For Chinese citizens, American green cards can be notoriously difficult to obtain. But a Beijing immigration company called Qiaowai tells visa applicants of a secret weapon: It is working on behalf of a real estate firm owned by the family of President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. “They said the president would make sure it came through,” said Lu Ling, a technology executive in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. “They said there was no chance it could fail.” As it builds two luxury apartment buildings in Jersey City, the Kushner family is trying to raise $150 million from Chinese investors through the so-called EB-5 program, which offers visas in exchange for a $500,000 investment. To get it done, the Kushners have turned to a pair of middlemen who have capitalized on a lucrative government program that critics say has little oversight and loose rules. The companies, Qiaowai and U.S. Immigration Fund, are the go-to matchmakers for big American developers. They have helped find Chinese investors for many developers’ giant projects, including numerous luxury high-rises in Manhattan, a sprawling complex of apartment buildings in Brooklyn and a golf course in Boca Raton, Fla. Last year, they brought Rudolph W. Giuliani, New York City’s onetime mayor, to Beijing to speak to potential investors. Both firms have faced questions about their tactics. Qiaowai, with more than 400 employees at its headquarters on the 32nd floor of a high-ris... Link to the full article to read more

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