By Rob Sanchez
03/11/2010
Let me start out by saying that of all organizations that are fighting for immigration sanity, NumbersUSA is second only to VDARE.com (my biased opinion of course).I truly believe their FAX system is the best tool available online to advocate for immigration sanity. Faxing gives the public the power to pressure Congress when they are up to something bad, or to praise them when they do right. Personally I have sent approximately 1200 faxes, which coincidentally is close to the number of newsletters I have published.
Lately I went to my "action buffet", which is only available for members who signed up for free. There are more tools and more flexibility on faxes on the buffet, which is the best reason to join.
NumbersUSA has a new FAX to send to senators concerning a new bill to loosen the EB-5 rules — as if they aren’t loose enough. Here is some background information NumbersUSA provides:
Sens. John Kerry (D-Ma.) and Richard Lugar (R-In.) will soon be introducing the Startup Visa Act.There are several options for the start of the FAX, so I chose this one:Currently, the EB-5 visa program allows foreign nationals who invest $500,000 in a corporation and create 10 jobs within two years to receive permanent residency. Also, only 3,000 EB-5 are issued each year.
The Startup Visa Act would make it far easier for foreign nationals to receive an EB-5 visa. The legislation, if passed, would lower the investment threshold to $250,000 and only require the creation of 5 jobs within a one year period. Not only does a foreign national have to invest far less money, he also receives his permanent residency twice as fast. This is clearly a bad deal for the United States.
Please fax your U.S. Senators and urge them to oppose the Startup Visa Act. It’s one thing to allow wealthy foreign nationals to invest their money in the United States in return for a green card. It’s a completely different thing to allow them to do so on the cheap. Click here to read a draft version of the bill.
We were appalled when we read the draft text of the Startup Visa Act! Why should the United States lower the cost it charges wealthy foreign nationals for permanent residency permits?So far, so good, but the main body of the text has a very bizarre statement which I highlighted in red.
I have no problems with allowing upstanding, wealthy foreign nationals invest their money in the United States, especially when their investment creates jobs for American workers. This is the purpose of the EB-5 visa program and I believe the program is functioning quite well.Considering all I have written lately [here and here] about the scandals and vice that surrounds the flawed EB-5 program, I just couldn’t believe NumbersUSA was serious. Make no mistake about it, NumbersUSA people read Vdare and the newsletter, and I sent them links to the Vdare.com articles. It would be difficult for the experts at NumbersUSA to feign ignorance of the EB-5 issue.Sadly, certain Senators want to lower the bar and make it easier for foreign nationals to participate in the program. This sounds great at first, until one realizes that this would have a negative impact on Americans who wish to start their own business.
The Startup Visa Act would allow foreign nationals who invest $250,000 in an American company to receive a visa; the current amount is $500,000. While relatively few Americans can find $500,000 to start a business, many more are able to find $250,000 to do so. This legislation would provide these Americans with more competition and make it more likely that their new business venture would fail. I cannot see how this would help America’s economy.
Please, for the sake of Americans who have the dream of owning their own business, oppose the Startup Visa Act.
There were about four choices for the main text but every one of them said variations of: "I have no problems" with EB5, blah, blah, blah.
I sent an email to most of the top officers of NumbersUSA about 24 hours ago and have not received a single reply. Their lack of a response concerns me deeply because thousands of people are sending their senators the wrong message. Here is the text of my email to NumbersUSA:
On a recent fax every choice had the same ridiculous statement — yes, I have a big, big, problem with EB5 even at $1 million. I have been running a series of articles on the Vdare blog concerning EB-5, and all I can say is the program has been a complete sham since its inception. See my long blog about the Baltimore Sun series because you cannot possibly say "no problemo" if you know anything about EB5.You guys slipped a serious gear here. I hope it was just a careless oversight.
Unable to comprehend your actions, Rob Sanchez
This is a content archive of VDARE.com, which Letitia James forced off of the Internet using lawfare.