Latest news with #EB5
CNN
29-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
5 things to know for May 29: Tariffs, Bird flu, Harvard, Extreme weather, Scientific research
Want to immigrate to America, but don't want to wait years going through the legal process? Soon you'll be able to register for a 'gold card' visa. The new card will replace the government's EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, which grants green cards to immigrants who make a $1.8 million investment in the US or put $900,000 into economically distressed zones. 'Basically, everyone I meet who is not an American is going to want to buy this card if they have the fiscal capacity,' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. And the new price tag? $5 million. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Get '5 Things' in your inbox If your day doesn't start until you're up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to your new favorite morning fix. Sign up here for the '5 Things' newsletter. President Donald Trump's economic agenda was thrown into chaos on Wednesday after a federal court ruled that he didn't have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs. The three-judge panel at the US Court of International Trade ruled in favor of a permanent injunction, one that would block the global tariffs the president announced on 'Liberation Day,' citing emergency economic powers. The ruling will also prevent Trump from enforcing the tariffs he placed on imports from Canada, China and Mexico earlier this year. It does not affect the 25% tariffs on autos, auto parts, steel or aluminum, which were subject to a different law than the one Trump cited for his broader trade actions. The administration has appealed the decision. The Department of Health and Human Services has terminated a $590 million contract with Moderna to develop a vaccine that would protect against bird flu. Since 2024, there have been at least 70 cases of avian influenza in humans and one death. The contract was canceled because the drugmaker was studying the effectiveness of an mRNA-based vaccine, which the Trump administration doesn't trust. Yet mRNA technology is currently used in Moderna's and Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccines. 'The attack on mRNA vaccines is beyond absurd. It was President Trump's Operation Warp Speed that gave us mRNA vaccines. These vaccines have been administered nearly 2 billion times to hundreds of millions of people around the world — making it one of the most widely used and widely studied vaccines in human history. They are safe and work well,' said Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator during the Biden administration. 'If Bird Flu starts spreading from people to people, we will come to regret this as the day we decided to put the lives of the American people at grave risk.' Imagine spending years studying, writing essays, doing lab work, taking tests and completing all of the required courses necessary to earn a college degree — only to wonder whether you should attend your own graduation. That's the situation for many international students at Harvard University, who fear that an immigration-related action will be taken against them during today's commencement ceremony, a school official spelled out in a court filing. Some international students who were supposed to attend Harvard for future semesters are also reconsidering doing so. Others have had trouble getting student visas to the US at embassies abroad. Three senior government officials told CNN that the State Department is currently reviewing all Harvard-affiliated visa holders, not just students, which is a notable escalation in the Trump administration's feud with the school. Global temperatures are forecast to reach record or near-record levels during the next five years, according to a report from two of the world's top meteorological agencies. The World Meteorological Organization and the UK Met Office predict there is now a 70% chance that global warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius, a rate that will increase the risks of more frequent and intense weather events, such as heat waves and heavy rainfall. 'We have just experienced the 10 warmest years on record. Unfortunately, this WMO report provides no sign of respite over the coming years, and this means that there will be a growing negative impact on our economies, our daily lives, our ecosystems and our planet,' WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett said. Sixteen states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Wednesday over the federal government's decision to gut research programs at the National Science Foundation. In April, hundreds of grants — mostly related to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and misinformation research — were terminated. Since then, additional cuts have led to the cancellation of 1,753 grants worth nearly $1.4 billion across numerous areas of research. The states allege that eliminating such research will jeopardize the US's position as a global leader in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and that cutting funding related to diversity was illegal. 'This administration's attacks on basic science and essential efforts to ensure diversity in STEM will weaken our economy and our national security. Putting politics over science will only set our country back,' said New York Attorney General Letitia James. Did hackers discover Victoria's Secret?The lingerie company pulled down its website this week after experiencing a prolonged 'security incident.' The giants don't need your moneyA new campaign is encouraging visitors to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland to stop wedging coins between the stones. What was on the megalodon's menu?The prehistoric predator was widely thought to subsist on large marine mammals, but a new study of fossilized teeth has found more variety in its diet. A mystery of cosmic proportionsAstronomers are trying to determine what kind of celestial object is emitting bright flashes of radio waves and X-rays that last for two minutes and repeat every 44 minutes. It would be a sin to miss thisResidents of the theater-less Mississippi town that inspired 'Sinners' will finally get to see the film. 7 millionThat's how many potential jobs the UN is predicting will vanish this year because of an economic slowdown triggered by President Trump's trade war. 'When I first heard the news, I wanted to curse Trump.' — Candy, a Chinese statistics student at the University of Michigan, who did not want to give her full name, after learning about the US decision to 'aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students.' Check your local forecast here>>> Um, we have a 'wildlife situation'Watch what happened when two pigeons apparently tried to stow away on a Delta Air Lines flight to Madison, Wisconsin.
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
‘It's unsafe': why Trump's ‘gold card' visa is failing to lure wealthy Chinese
When Candice Meng, a real estate developer from Guangzhou in southern China, heard about US President Donald Trump's proposal for a new 'gold card' offering permanent residency to the super-rich, she was initially intrigued. The requirement to invest at least US$5 million in the United States to qualify for the scheme seemed reasonable: the price tag is actually far higher for similar golden visa programmes in other countries, she pointed out. 'It's not expensive in terms of cost-effectiveness – it's at least 100 million yuan (US$13.9 million) for Singapore and over 60 million yuan for New Zealand,' Meng said. But Meng, who owns hundreds of millions of yuan worth of assets, eventually decided against applying for US residency. With the US-China trade war and relatively high urban crime levels, America just did not feel like a good place to be right now, she said. Meng is far from alone. Three months after he first floated the idea , Trump's gold card scheme appears to have fallen flat with China's wealthy, who were expected to be one of the biggest sources of demand for the controversial new visa. China has experienced a significant outflow of millionaires in recent years amid an economic slowdown, and wealthy Chinese make up roughly 70 per cent of global applicants for the US' existing EB-5 visa for foreign investors – the programme that the gold card would replace – according to US government data.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
American Lending Center Continues Fast Pace Of I-956F Project Approvals
IRVINE, Calif., May 21, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Lending Center (ALC) recently received I-956F approval for another EB-5 project, its 29th straight federal approval since the Reform and Integrity Act (RIA) passed in March 2022. This is a record for that industry. In the last three years, ALC has successfully financed 31 EB-5 projects in 17 different states and 11 different industries, ranging from commercial real estate to vertical farming to clean energy to hospital/medical facilities. Each of these projects has a clear plan to create a large number of jobs, often in rural areas where jobs were scarce. I-956F applications are reviewed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The I-956F approval is required for a Regional Center to move forward with an EB-5 investment project. It clears the path for the EB-5 investors to file individual immigration petitions to secure U.S. permanent residency for the family. John Shen, Founder and CEO of ALC, long has been focused on job creation and community improvement through economic development. Of the 29 projects approved under RIA, 21 were in rural areas needing economic development, five were in high-unemployment areas needing jobs and three were specifically for needed government infrastructure projects such as hospitals. The average processing time of ALC's recent I-956F applications is between three and four months. "We are honored to be able to provide assistance to these highly beneficial projects," Shen said. "The ability to get an approval for every application we submitted in so little time is a testament to the talent and hard work of our team. That helps make communities better places to live." American Lending Center was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. Since its inception, it has provided more than $2.3 billion in loans and investments to thousands of companies in all fifty states of America. About American Lending Center: American Lending Center Holdings (ALCH) manages 14 EB-5 regional centers that may sponsor projects anywhere in continental United States and Hawaii. Since 2009, ALCH has raised EB-5 capital for over 100 projects in 31 states including I-956F approvals from USCIS of 29 projects. ALCH has been featured on the Inc. 5000 list of "Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America" for five consecutive years (2020–2024) and was also ranked among "America's Fastest Growing Companies" by Financial Times in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025. American Lending Center LLC (ALC), a mission-driven California-regulated lender, is a licensed SBA 7(a) and SSBCI lender. Together, ALCH and ALC have supported the creation or retention of over 140,000 jobs in the U.S. economy, underwriting impactful projects that foster economic growth. Follow American Lending Center on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. View source version on Contacts Junman ZhangAmerican Lending Center(562) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNN
21-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Wealthy foreigners able to register for Trump's $5 million ‘gold card' visa within a week, said Lutnick
Foreign nationals with $5 million to spare will soon be able to register for a new 'gold card' visa that would give them the right to live and work permanently in the United States, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Wednesday. 'I expect there will be a website up called 'Trump card dot gov' in about a week,' Lutnick said at Axios' 'Building the Future' event in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. 'The details of that will come soon after, but people can start to register.' Further information about the visa program will come in the next few weeks, he added. Lutnick has said the card would replace the government's EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, which grants green cards to immigrants who make a comparatively smaller investment of $1.8 million into the US or $900,000 into economically distressed zones. On Wednesday, Lutnick suggested there is already strong interest in the new visa program, saying that on a recent trip to the Middle East he was already 'selling' cards. 'Basically, everyone I meet who is not an American is going to want to buy this card if they have the fiscal capacity,' Lutnick said. The new 'gold card' visa program was first proposed in February by President Donald Trump. 'We're going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million and that's going to give you green card privileges, plus it's going to be a route to citizenship. And wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card,' Trump said from the Oval Office in February. Immigration law experts have warned that creating a new visa requires approval from Congress, though. On Wednesday, Lutnick said the 'gold card' program could help pay down the US federal debt, which currently totals over $36 trillion. 'These are going to be great people who are going to come and bring businesses and opportunity to America, and they're going to pay $5 million,' Lutnick said. 'If there are 200,000 people who pay, that's a trillion dollars. That pays for everything.'
CNN
21-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Wealthy foreigners able to register for Trump's $5 million ‘gold card' visa within a week, said Lutnick
Foreign nationals with $5 million to spare will soon be able to register for a new 'gold card' visa that would give them the right to live and work permanently in the United States, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Wednesday. 'I expect there will be a website up called 'Trump card dot gov' in about a week,' Lutnick said at Axios' 'Building the Future' event in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. 'The details of that will come soon after, but people can start to register.' Further information about the visa program will come in the next few weeks, he added. Lutnick has said the card would replace the government's EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, which grants green cards to immigrants who make a comparatively smaller investment of $1.8 million into the US or $900,000 into economically distressed zones. On Wednesday, Lutnick suggested there is already strong interest in the new visa program, saying that on a recent trip to the Middle East he was already 'selling' cards. 'Basically, everyone I meet who is not an American is going to want to buy this card if they have the fiscal capacity,' Lutnick said. The new 'gold card' visa program was first proposed in February by President Donald Trump. 'We're going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million and that's going to give you green card privileges, plus it's going to be a route to citizenship. And wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card,' Trump said from the Oval Office in February. Immigration law experts have warned that creating a new visa requires approval from Congress, though. On Wednesday, Lutnick said the 'gold card' program could help pay down the US federal debt, which currently totals over $36 trillion. 'These are going to be great people who are going to come and bring businesses and opportunity to America, and they're going to pay $5 million,' Lutnick said. 'If there are 200,000 people who pay, that's a trillion dollars. That pays for everything.'
