AS THE Obama Administration grapples with proposals to avoid a “double-dip” recession and jump-start the US economy, members of Congress are taking aim at the flagging housing market. With existing home sales down three percent in September 2011, the White House has urged members of Congress to espouse mortgage reform to help homeowners obtain the credit they need to refinance their homes at reasonable rates, especially those who are “under water” with their current rates. Taking a slightly different tack, a bipartisan bill in the Senate would seek to attract direct and immediate foreign investment in the US housing market and is gaining steam in Congress.
Introduced as part of the “Visa Improvements to Stimulate International Tourism to the United States of America Act,” (VISIT-USA Act) by Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) the new program would allow qualifying home buyers to obtain nonimmigrant visas to the US valid for three years and extendable indefinitely. VISIT-USA also contains provisions to allow Chinese visitors to obtain multiple-entry, five-year visas and to allow Canadians to visit and remain in the US for more than the current 180-day limit without a visa in order to stimulate the economy, but the Homeowner Visa is the focal point of the bill. Investors purchasing a primary residence for at least $250,000 and a total of $500,000 in US real estate would qualify for the visa. The purchases must be done in cash, however, completely unencumbered; and the buyer would be required to remain in the US at least 180 days each year.
Requiring the homeowner visa holder to remain in the US for at least six months a year means that the investor would be spending money in the US for living expenses, but the six-month requirement also means that the investor would be subject to paying US income taxes on worldwide income. As a further restriction, the Homeowner Visa would not entitle the investor to work in the US, such that an investor desiring to work in the US would require a separate working visa application. Homeowner Visa holders also would not be eligible for Medicaid, Medicare or any Social Security Benefits.
Senators Schumer and Lee see the VISIT USA homeowner visa program as a “real-world” antidote to the housing crisis, which would tear down barriers that have historically limited foreign investors’ access to the US housing market. While there are those in Congress who seem intent on defeating any legislation that could improve the economy for the purpose of portraying Obama as a “failure” in the next election, the program’s restrictions should make it very difficult to explain any resistance to the new bill. Since the Homeowner Visa program will encourage direct investment in the US housing market and increase the tax base, while protecting US workers and entitlement programs, VISIT USA should appeal to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
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Daniel P. Hanlon is a California State Bar Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law and a principal of Hanlon Law Group, PC, located at 225 S. Lake Ave., 11th Floor in Pasadena, California; tel. No. (626) 585-8005. Hanlon Law Group, PC is a “full-service Immigration Law firm.” E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and www.hanlonlawgroup.com
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