Faced with a long waiting list and a possible increase in minimum investment for the EB-5, Chinese investors are now opening up to the attractive alternative of the L1 visa in the US, reports Forbes (28 March 2017). This is based on recent observations by Juwai.com, the largest international property portal in China, which organises several visa-related events every month to educate potential Chinese buyers on their options abroad. According to Juwai.com CEO Charles Pittar, “When immigration experts begin explaining the L1 visa to them, as much as one third of EB-5 applicants that we work with will likely prefer it. What they want is the least uncertainty, the shortest timeframe and the lowest cost possible." Mainland Chinese make up 90% of applicants for the EB-5, and the current waitlist for Chinese applicants is as long as eight years.
