Want a green card? Pay $1M for stake in Orlando-area condo hotel [Central Florida]
Condominium hotels were among the first real-estate investments to go sour as the housing market slumped and, later, the credit markets seized up. But Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa is hoping the lure of permanent U.S. residency will eventually persuade well-heeled foreign investors to help it expand near Walt Disney World.
The condo-hotel resort received government approval several months ago to serve as a “regional center” for foreign investment. Under federal immigration policy, an approved foreigner whose investment is supposed to create 10 full-time jobs in the U.S. can get a conditional visa to live here — and can ultimately secure a regular “green card” good for permanent residency.
The Lake Buena Vista resort is one of only about 35 such centers for EB-5 visas in the country — and the first one not in a rural or high-unemployment setting.