The Not-So cheap but Faster Way to Get Yourself a Green Card

Majority stakeholder Flávio Augusto da Silva, of the Orlando City MLS soccer team in Florida is offering an irresistible deal for his foreign investors who invest $500,000 or more towards the construction of a new stadium – season tickets, dividends and something that will keep you there: a  US Green Card!

Flávio isn't rubbing shoulders with President Obama nor does he have any special constitutional powers. He is just using the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (Entrepreneurs should invest an amount between $1 million and $500,000 and create/preserve 10 full-time jobs for  US workers) that gives foreign entrepreneurs permanent residency in the  US (the program includes applicants’ spouses and unmarried children under 21).

Close to 9,000 EB-5 visas were issued last year and around 80% of them are thought to be for Chinese investors. Da Silva thought of exploring the EB-5 program as a route for funding after being denied subsidies for the stadium by Florida politicians. The stadium is located in Orlando's poorest neighbourhoods of Parramore and will be responsible for better infrastructure post completion.

Da Silva opined that his move was purely a business decision, and that investors find the opportunity attractive because it lets them invest and move to the  US, get a Green Card and participate in the development of the club. The club aims to raise close to $78 million from foreign investments; at $500,000 per visa, the number of Green Cards on the offer comes to 156. The club has attracted 30 investors so far. The Times states that the 25,000 seats capacity stadium would be inaugurated in the 2017 season, and that this is the first time any sports club has used the EB-5 program for fundraising.

Golden visas, as most investor visas are often addressed, are not unique to the  US but also offered in the EU countries post the recession during 2007-2008. Many countries such as Spain, Greece and Portugal offer golden visas for investors who purchase real estate (investment should be minimum of €250,000 for Greece and €500,000 for Spain). Portugal was able to rope in close to €1.53 billion investments after launching its visa scheme in 2012, as per Bloomberg reports.

Da Silva, aged 43, is an entrepreneur from Brazil who has a chain of English language schools in the country and worth 1.1 billion reales or $312 million as per Forbes.

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