Canada has been doing that for years. They really cashed in during the turn over of Hong Kong to the Chinese. Actually it would be a good thing for small business people here. You would be able to sell your money loosing bar, deli, Laundromat or what ever for way more than it is worth to some foreigner millionaire who wants to live here.

Read the High Country News article about the poor kids whose parents brought them over as infants and who, once they reach 18, are fair game for deportation to a country they don't remember, which uses a language they usually don't speak at all, etc.

As the descendant of 20th C. immigrant grandparents on one side and 18th C. immigrant ancestors on the other, I don't have any problem letting wealthy immigrants buy themselves a greencard -- but for pete's sake, FIRST give these kids a humane route to naturalized citizenship.

http://www.hcn.org/issues/42.14

Hey, getting well-to-do people from elsewhere to move to this potemkin village is our entire ponzi scheme... oops, I mean, "economic development strategy".

From the article: . .It’s the first time Portland has attempted to use the EB-5 investment program. Congress created the program in 1990 to attract more foreign investment to economically depressed or troubled parts of cities and states. .

We’re economically depressed and troubled all right, thanks to whom?

Well, lets just put it all on the auction block.
Will help out all those politicians who can't fix the mess they got us into. Looks like another gravy train to bail some out.

What is Sam's desperation - to fill those empty condo's in SoWhat? I wonder how those foreigners will like buying a condo next to a jail? Maybe they can get a birds eye view of what it is like trying to come into this country without millions.

How far will this go? Will Sam take every inch of West Hayden Island now to assist turning it into a private airstrip for the millionaire’s private jets?

Most other countries do this to some degree or another. Canada offers a faster track to citizenship, by the way.

On the one hand, it's a great idea because those who can afford to buy-in are usually the smartest, most ambitious citizens in their own countries. If you believe, like I do, that it's good for the USA to attract the best and brightest, this is a good way to do that.

On the other hand, if every smart, ambitious, capitalist, pro-USA Chinese citizen moves here, then the people left behind to govern won't be as inclined to reform China. Also, the people who come over here will use their profits to make remittances instead of pouring the money back into the local economy. That has it's own set of pros and cons, but overall, it's a big negative for local economies. The rich investors will come here and function as big money sponges. They'll end up removing far more money from the local economy than what they pay up front. That's probably the biggest downside.

But really, did you think Mayor Adams would have considered any of this? He's too busy texting his young boyfriends to be thinking about anything serious.

This seems like a tipsy coachman situation, though, getting to the right place by accident. What I mean is that I support this, despite its impact on our local economy, because God made America to provide a sanctuary of freedom for the world's people, and I think we should show our gratitude by letting everyone come here to join us as long as they've got a good attitude and work ethic.

Great. Maybe we can actually mingle with more exotic Asiatic and Levantine brands of Blago and Little Lord Paulson at Higgins in the future.

I'm waiting to see Portland turn the other cheek, and copy Canada in another way. I'm fully expecting Portland to copy Banff National Park in Alberta and insist upon proof of having a real job within the city limits, so as to prevent rich people from buying up everything and making it impossible for local workers to live there. Oh, wait...

Surely we don't want people with the means to support themselves coming here to live.

Would those buying their green cards bump those who have been waiting in line? That doesn't seem fair.

Michelle, not necessarily. There are no physical limits on the number of greencards we can issue.

Are there quotas on how many green cards can be issued to various nationalities?

I do agree that we want people coming to the US who are capable of working, but I don't think the well-to-do should be given an advantage over those who just need to be given a chance. This smells like yet another way for the Haves to beat out the Have Nots.

Michelle, The haves have always beat out the have nots.