The new attention has turned a once-obscure alternative source of funds into a viable route toward development. Use of the 20-year-old program nearly doubled last year, to 1,995 investor applicants in the fiscal year ended last September from 1,031 in the prior year.

In 2006, when the economy was still roaring, there were just 486 applicants, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The program is named EB-5 because it represents a fifth category of employment-based immigration.

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Good:

1. Prohibits creation of a national identification card (this contradicts mandated E-Verify, see below).
2. “Recapture” of unused worked visas from past years for next fiscal year, including 309,500 H-1B visas for the next fiscal year.
3. Exempts several categories of highly skilled workers from employment based visa caps. This de-facto expands the yearly cap.
4. Removes backlog of visas by updating system and personnel augmentation.
5. Improves infrastructure at ports of entry to smooth immigrant entry and streamline inspection.

Bad:

1. H-1B and H-2B employers must show, through more paperwork, they tried to hire American workers.
2. Allows Department of Labor to conduct more onerous and expensive workplace inspections for H-1B, L-1, and H-2 visas than they already do.
3. Recreates EB-5 visa program to bring in immigrants to blighted communities. Why do this when we can just expand existing visa programs?
4. Gives grants to subsidize English, lawyers for immigrants, and other services. Immigrants can do this on their own, they don’t need government help.

VERY bad:

1. Title II creates a mandatory federal employment verification system (like E-Verify) that will eventually apply to ALL workers and new hires (including natural born Americans). The old E-Verify flawed and prone to errors. The new E-Verify will add new burdens, regulations, and fees on a labor market already under strain. If the goal is to “Europeanize” America’s labor markets, this is a great start. This will also lead to a national ID card because there is no other way to run such a system. There is no point in letting in more immigrants if U.S. laws severely restrict employers from hiring them.

Unnecessary:

1. EB-5 visa program to channel immigrants to blighted communities.
2. Most of the rest of the bill.

Amnesty (Title IV):

To gain legal status an undocumented (some say “illegal”) immigrant must:

1. Pass a complete criminal and security background check, and
2. Demonstrate commitment to the U.S. through employment, education, military service, or other community/volunteer service, and
3. Pay $500 fine (unless entered U.S. when under 16 years of age), and
4. Register for the draft, and
5. Meet English and civics requirements, and
6. Undergo a medical examination, and
7. Pay all taxes, and
8. Demonstrate residency in U.S.

Those who do not qualify do not get a work visa that can lead to other goodies like a green card. The penalty for lying on amnesty forms is up to 5 years imprisonment.

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