From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
What do these four things have in common: a proposed wind farm in the American state of Washington, a gold mine in Idaho, a new casino in Las Vegas and ski resort expansions in Vermont. They're all investment vehicles for wealthy foreigners seeking green cards to live in the United States.
这四件事有什么共同点：美国华盛顿州拟建的风力发电场，爱达荷州的金矿，拉斯维加斯的一家新赌场和佛蒙特州滑雪胜地的扩张。它们都是外国富人谋求到美国生活的投资工具。
Under American law, foreigners can get such residency if they invest at least 500,000 dollars to create at least 10 jobs in the country. Here is an example of how the program works.
根据美国法律，外国人在美国投资50万美元并创造至少10个就业岗位，就能在美国居留。以下就是该计划如何运作的一个例子。
A few years ago, Jordan Gagner and his wife needed to move from their home in Canada to a drier climate, like Arizona. At first, the possibility of moving south of the border permanently seemed unlikely.
几年前，乔丹·冈纳（Jordan Gagner）和他的妻子需要从加拿大搬到一个少雨的地方，像亚利桑那州(51VOA注：该州位于美国南方边境)。起初，永久性搬到美国南方边境的可能性似乎不大。
"Being a self-employed wealth manager and a teacher, those are two occupations that are not on the top 10 lists of visas being given to foreigners to come down to the U.S."
他说，“作为一名个体理财经理和教师，这两个职业都不在提供给外国人来美签证前10名的名单上。”
But then he heard about the immigrant investor visa. He and several other foreign investors offered $500,000 each to build an assisted living center in Bellingham, Washington. Mr Gagner was credited with creating lots of jobs during the recession and his whole family received green cards.
但随后他听说了投资移民签证。他和一些外国投资者每人投了50万美元，在华盛顿州贝灵汉市建立了一家养老院。冈纳先生由于在经济衰退期间创造了大量就业机会获得好评，他全家都获得了美国绿卡。
Immigration lawyer David Andersson organized the deal.
移民律师大卫·安德森（David Andersson）经手了这起案子。
"If you have a solid investment and there may be a benefit which exceeds mere return, such as the ability to move your family to America, then an investor may consider a lower return than, for example, a bank."
他说，如果你有一项可靠的投资，收益有可能超过单纯的回报，例如有能力全家移民到美国。那么投资者可能会考虑低于银行的回报。”
Mr Andersson has led the way in an industry he says is growing quickly. Companies that bringing together investors and possible borrowers are officially known as "EB-5 regional centers." The name comes from the part of the immigration law that set up the immigrant investor visa.
安德森先生在他所言的一个正迅猛增长的行业里遥遥领先。为投资者和潜在借款人牵线搭桥的公司被称为投资移民区域项目中心(EB-5 regional centers)。这个名字来源于提出投资移民签证的移民法的某部分内容。
Some Americans have expressed concerns about the program. Landowner Harland Radomske first heard about it when a group of wealthy Koreans were invited to invest in a wind farm on land next to his property. He feared a wind farm would reduce the value of his ranch, and there was more.
一些美国人已经对该计划表达了担忧。农场主哈兰德·罗德姆斯克(Harland Radomske)初次听到该计划时，是一群韩国富人被邀请投资邻近他农场的一处陆上风力发电场。他担心风力发电场会使他家农场贬值，当然还不止这些。
"We have all of this controversy going over immigration, the borders of Mexico, and all of that issues before the Congress and Senate and so on. And now we find out unbeknownst, if you're a rich foreigner, you can buy your way to citizenship."
他说，“我们就移民、墨西哥边境等问题闹到了美国国会和参议院。而现在我们发现，如果你是外国富人，你就能买到美国国籍。”
The wind project developers refused many requests to tell the side of the story. Yet, even with the disputes over immigration, the foreign investor program has a lot of support in Congress. There is also a move to make the program permanent.
风电项目开发商拒绝了讲述这件事另一面的很多要求。然而，即使移民争议不断，外国投资者计划在国会却获得了广泛支持。并且还有活动要使该计划永久化。
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