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The free market, democratic spirit and economic prosperity helped to make the Statue of Liberty and the U.S. a symbol of hope and freedom to immigrants. While the times have changed since immigrants docked on Ellis Island in droves, the U.S. still offers numerous attractive attributes which draw foreigners to the shores.

The topic of immigration is constantly a controversial issue in Congress, especially after restrictions were tightened at the beginning of the last decade when lawmakers feared terrorist attacks and citizens in the Southwest complained that Mexicans were saturating the labor markets.

But in a political climate more shaped by a failing economy than political borders, the U.S. has been drawing increasingly on foreign investment to fund American start-up companies and create new jobs.

The EB-5 visa program has emerged an opportunity fulfill the companies economic needs and provide a way for immigrants, seeking an EB-5 investment opportunity or simply looking to immerse themselves in American culture, to gain the right to live and work in the U.S.

Under the program, the U.S. government may issue up to 10,000 EB-5 visas each year to foreigner financiers who invest at least $1 million in a U.S. company, or $500,000 in a EB-5 regional center or company in which the unemployment rate exceeds the national average by 150 percent.

After a two-year temporary residence period, the investor is eligible to apply for a U.S. green card, which grants permanent permission to live and work in the country.

In 2007, EB-5 visa-holder Eric Canal-Forgues, a law professor and businessman from France, invested $500,000 in an EB-5 regional center that funded the construction of Comcast’s Philadelphia headquarters.

He told the Washington Post, “We really wanted our children to be raised in a dual culture…because I think the educational system at the university level is much stronger here than in France.”

In addition to seeking access America’s educational system and tapping into the unique North American culture, some EB-5 investors are simply looking to expedite the U.S. naturalization process.

For instance, countries like China and South Korea are typically the source of many aspiring green card holders each year, which prompted the U.S. to impose restrictions on the number of visas that can be issued to nationals from these territories, according to the Post.

To circumvent the restrictions, citizens may look into the investment program. In fact, 70 percent of EB-5 visas issued in 2009 were to people of Chinese or South Korean descent.