A new visa program for overseas investors is slowly wending its way through congress. We’ve covered it before in the blog, but a member recently asked for an update . There hasn’t been a whole lot of recent discussion of this topic in the larger publications (NYT, WSJ, etc.), so we provided what we could locate in other sources. We also provided older articles and blogs that will provide context and opinion, as well as legislative information with summaries, actions, and committee assignments.

Recent Articles/Blogs

VISIT-USA Act Would Give Home Buyers a 3-Year Visa, (LawInfo [blog], Jan. 3, 2012)

VISIT USA Act Will Give Foreign Investors in Florida Real Estate a US Visa With $500K+ Purchase (JDSupra, Dec. 14, 2011)

United States: Give me your Gucci-clad masses; Visas for dollars (The Economist, Dec. 3, 2011)

Does the VISIT-USA Act Make Sense? (Yahoo News, Nov. 1, 2011)

Older articles/blogs offering context

Clarifying Elements of the VISIT-USA Act (Mike Lee, US Senator for Utah [blog], Oct. 20, 2011)

U.S. Travel Association Commends VISIT USA Act (U.S. Travel Association, Oct. 20, 2011)

Foreigners’ Sweetener: Buy House, Get a Visa (Wall Street Journal, Oct. 20, 2011)

Bill would encourage foreigners to buy U.S. homes (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 20, 2011)

Adopting retirement visa scheme would boost Florida market, say realtors (TheMoveChannel.com, Oct. 12, 2011)

H.R. 3341, The Visa Improvements to Stimulate International Tourism to the United States of America (VISIT USA) Act (U.S. House of Representatives Congresswoman Mazie K. Hirono, Hawaii)

Legislative Summaries

Open Congress: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s1746/show

See this site for official bill summary, recent news coverage, and recent blog coverage

H.R. 3341

Overview: H.R. 3341: Visa Improvements to Stimulate International Tourism to the United States of America Act (govtrack.us)

Last action: Nov 21, 2011: House Judiciary: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement. See more detailed actions at the New York Times site.

Committee Assignments: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3341&tab=committees

Full text: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-3341

S. 1746

Overview: S. 1746: Visa Improvements to Stimulate International Tourism to the United States of America Act (govtrack.us)

Last action: Oct 20, 2011: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Committee Assignments: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-1746&tab=committees

Full text : Text of S. 1746: Visa Improvements to Stimulate International Tourism to the United States of America Act

Sarah

Information & Web Content Specialist