Established in 1990 as a component of the Immigration Reform Act, signed into law by President Bush, and known technically as the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, 10,000 foreign nationals per year have been permitted to invest their way into the United States for over two decades. Intended to require a $1 million floor, investors need only put up half that if the investment is made in a “targeted employment area,” or “TEA,” where the jobless rate is higher than 150% of the national average.

Michelle Hua, managing partner of the Hua & Murga law firm in New York City, says the EB-5 program is, at its essence, “about job creation.”

“EB-5 is meant to stimulate the economy and create American jobs which must be held by American workers,” Hua tells me. “It creates a legal way for people to come to the US as immigrants — presumably people of high net worth who will buy things, pay taxes. The law says if you invest in America, you can get a green card. If you follow the rules, this is the result.”