Manhattan builders face clash with legislators over visa scheme

New York

AS Related Cos' US$20 billion real estate complex rises on the far west side of Manhattan, legislators in Washington are debating the fate of a programme that has been critical to building it.

The caissons underpinning the 11-hectare Hudson Yards project, and steel beams rising for towers from Seattle to Los Angeles, are resting on the same foundation: a bedrock of cash from Chinese individuals. Developers are taking advantage of a record amount of money that's flowing through the EB-5 programme, which grants green cards to foreigners that invest a minimum of US$500,000 in projects that create jobs.

Lawmakers are pressing for changes to EB-5 when it comes up for renewal by Congress in September. Proposed legislation seeks to redirect investments to poor and rural communities and would make it tougher for developers to access funds in big cities such as New York, where at least US$3.2 billion of EB-5 cash has gone towards building the skyline since 2010, according to a study by Jeanne Cal…