Chinese snap up 85% of US investor visas

Investors from China accounted for 85% of US investor visas this year, exhausting the supply until the next fiscal year begins on October 1, The Wall Street Journal reported. No one country is allotted more than 7% of such visas under program rules, but the unused visas from other countries’ quotas can be transferred to another where demand is stronger. This allowed Chinese applicants to net about 8,500 of this year’s total of 10,000 visas by investing at least US$500,000 in US development projects. The investor and family members typically become eligible for green cards, or permanent residency, within two years.