DESPITE all the talk of class warfare and punishing success, the United States remains a highly desirable place for the world’s rich, especially for wealthy Chinese.

According to data from U.S. Immigration Service, thousands of wealthy Chinese have applied for the EB-5 Visa, also known as the “green-card-for-money” program.

Under the program, foreign investors must finance commercial projects in the United States by investing either US$500,000 or US$1 million and create at least 10 full-time jobs. The investors have to undergo a background check, identify the source of their wealth and create and sustain 10 full-time jobs. The investors and their families can obtain citizenship after five years if they fulfill the requirements.

Lots of rich people around the world apply. But the Chinese have become far and away the biggest users and beneficiaries.

In 2011, 2,969 Chinese citizens applied for the program and 934 were approved, according to the Immigration Service. (Approval doesn’t mean they get citizenship, it just means they can start the program.) Their numbers represented more than three quarters of the total number of applicants and approvals.

It’s also a huge increase from previous years. In 2007, only 270 Chinese citizens applied and only 161 were approved, accounting for only about a third of the totals.

The obvious reason for the huge increase is that China has a lot more millionaires and billionaires.

A recent survey by the Bank of China and wealth researcher Hurun Report found that more than half of China’s millionaires are either considering emigrating or had already taken steps to do so.

The survey found that the most common reason cited by respondents for emigrating was their children’s education, followed by a desire for better medical treatment and the fear of pollution in China.

The top destination among those emigrating was the United States, accounting for 40 percent, followed by Canada with 37 percent, Singapore with 14 percent and Europe with 11 percent, the survey showed.

(SD-Agencies)