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Vermont governor’s EB-5 trip becomes a campaign issue
Jim Douglas, governor of the state of Vermont, recently returned from a trip to Asia promoting the EB-5 visa program, but his trip has become an issue in the upcoming election, WCAX reports.
In the EB-5 visa program, foreign nationals who invest $1 million ($500,000 in some regions, including parts of Vermont) in companies and whose investments either create or save 10 jobs are awarded with U.S. green card eligibility.
“This is a great program that is creating hundreds of jobs in our state,” Douglas told the news source. Many of those jobs are centered around Jay Peak Mountain Resort, a ski complex that has been the focus of a great deal of EB-5-related investment in the state.
Some politicians in Vermont are strong supporters of the EB-5 program, including Douglas and Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie, who is the Republican nominee in the upcoming gubernatorial election. Senator Patrick Leahy, who played a role in the initial approval of the program, has been touting his involvement with the EB-5 visa program in campaign ads.
Others, however, are more critical. “I would not discontinue anything that is succeeding, but I do not think the answer to our economic problems is junkets to China,” Peter Shumlin, state senator and Democratic gubernatorial nominee, told the news source.