lawandborder.com

SHANGHAI, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — Six types of foreign professionals and investors in Shanghai are now eligible to live in the city five years, instead of the usual one year, in a move to help boost economic growth, Tuesday’s China Daily reported.

Authorities implemented the measures for expatriates on Jan.1 to entice scientific researchers, top managers and investors to stay longer in the city.

 Other categories are: individuals with highly specialized skills, celebrities, private investors and foreigners awarded special status in light of their contributions to China. All of these people can apply for five-year residence permits, the newspaper said.

One of the changes makes life considerably easier for business owners, who formerly had to prove that they had 30 million U.S. dollars of registered capital to apply for the extended permit. This figure was slashed by 90 percent at the turn of the year, according to the newspaper.

 ”Now that the number has dropped to 3 million U.S. dollars, the range of expats who are eligible to qualify has soared, “a police officer surnamed Zhang from the exit-entry administration bureau of the Shanghai public security bureau was quoted as saying by the China Daily.

The extended residence permits were implemented citywide following a successful trial in Shanghai’s Pudong New District from July 1. In this interim period, police processed more than 500 of the new five-year permits, said the newspaper.

Shanghai saw its population of foreign permanent residents top the 150,000 mark in 2008, up 20,000 from the year before. Figures for last year have not yet been released by the city’s bureau of family planning.

Most foreigners live in Shanghai on a short-term basis, using either the tourist (L) or visitor (F) visas, which usually allow them to stay for up to three months, according to the newspaper.

Update: The U.S. Consulate in Shanghai has now agreed, similar to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, that prior to Mar. 1, if an applicant has connectivity problems filling the DS-160 then he or she may instead use the old Forms DS-156 and 157.

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The U.S. State Department has announced that in March 2010 all nonimmigrant visa applicants in China will need to use the new Form DS-160, Nonimmigrant Visa Application. This form combines and replaces previous Forms DS-156, 157, and 158.

To test the form with smaller groups, the State Department began to require its use for the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) corporate visa programs in Shanghai (effective Jan. 11) and Beijing (effective Jan. 20). Our firm’s initial experience with the form has been frustrating.

The main problem is that this Form must be completed and filed electronically on the State Department’s website (http://ceac.state.gov/genniv), but the website is unstable. The website itself has posted a warning:

However the problem is more serious than that warning implies. The website crashed so often that over the past days (Wed., Jan 20 to Fri., Jan. 22) it has been very difficult to complete the form. The most common error is a “time out” error:

We tried many hours (including early mornings and late nights) filing the forms from multiple PCs and from three of the firm’s offices in China and the U.S. But time after time the system crashed. Only by filing the form over and over did we sometimes get lucky enought to finish the filing process.

We have explained the problem to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and the Embassy has agreed to our request to continue to accept the old Forms DS-156 and 157 for the AmCham corporate visa program through Mar. 1.  However, the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai insists that the DS-160 must be used. Applicants with difficulties filling the DS-160 in Shanghai should be aware that the AmCham program is now optional, meaning that an appointment may be scheduled through the normal channel by calling the Visa Call Center. The regular channel will continue to accept Forms DS-156 and 157 until Mar. 1.

Some Chinese scientists who have established their careers in the U.S. are deciding to return to China, according to Sharon LaFraniere’s article entitled Fighting Trend, China is Luring Scientists Home, in January 6th’s New York Times.  The number of returnees seem to be small but significant.

In brief, here are the pros and cons of returning to China, according to the article:

Pros:

* Chinese government and Party support for returning scientists.

* Scientists can take pride in helping their own nation.

* Within the next 20 years, China may surpass the U.S. in the ability to commercialize R&D.

* The ability to make a difference: Shi Yigong left a position at Princeton to become the dean of life sciences at Tsinghua. He admits that Tsinghua is not on par with Princeton, but “[i]n the United States, everything is more or less set up. Whatever I do here [in China], the impact is probably tenfold, or a hundredfold.”

* The sense that “Asians confront[ ] a glass ceiling in the United States.”

Cons:

* The Chinese scientific community may not recognize the contributions made overseas by returnees.

* “Connections too often trump[ ] merit when grants [a]re handed out in China.”

What do you think?

Statistics show a surge in interest in the EB-5 investor visa program during 2009. Created as part of the Immigration Act of 1990, the EB-5 visa program grants lawful permanent residence to foreign nationals who invest $500,000 or $1 million in U.S. businesses and create or preserve at least 10 U.S. jobs.

Especially noteworthy is the increase in “regional centers.” These are private corporations or government agencies which can pool investor money to make large investments in specific geographic areas. The centers have used EB-5 investor capital in a wide variety of projects, including hotels, manufacturing enterprises, farms, restaurants, and technology companies.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services statistics for fiscal year 2009 (ending October 1, 2009):

* Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur:  1028 received, 966 approved, 163 denied.
* Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions: 437 received, 335 approved, 55 denied.

U.S. Department of State Statistics:

* FY 2009: 4,218 immigrant visas issued.
* FY 2008: 1,443 immigrant visas issued.

Regional Centers:

* FY 2009: 74
* FY 2008: 23