By Indian Times Daily

Facing a crackdown on their favorite visa to enter the United States, hundreds of wealthy Indians are turning to another program that fast tracks immigrants to a green card.

Applications from India for EB-5 visas — which give immigrants a green card if they invest $500,000 and create 10 jobs in the United States — have surged in recent months.

The US government issued 174 such visas to Indians in the year ended September 2017, an increase of about 17% over the previous year, according to State Department data.

Interest has taken off since then. In October and November, the United States received another 307 applications from India for what is often referred to as the “golden visa.”

Indian demand for EB-5 visas has “really become explosive in the past 12 months,” Neil Weinrib, an immigration lawyer based in New York, told CNNMoney.

The EB-5 program, with its investment threshold and emphasis on job creation, aligns with Trump’s exhortation to “Buy American, Hire American.”

The fund, which connects EB-5 visa applicants to US investment projects, has been expanding its India business with new offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. Graves expects the number of Indian applications at least to double every year for the next several years, overtaking countries like South Korea, Vietnam and Brazil.

China remains the biggest market by far for the visa, but it has been losing its luster.

Original Post: Indian Times Daily