Wealthy Russians Offered a Caribbean Shortcut to US Visas by Paying for Grenadian Passports
by Shawn Johnson October 23, 2022 in Finance
Wealthy Russians Offered a Caribbean Shortcut to US Visas by Paying for Grenadian Passports
Anna Kim / Insider
Insiders investigate how wealthy Russians can move to America by investing in Grenada’s economy.
A visa firm is offering a shortcut after Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilization.
It’s legal, but one illicit-finance expert said it could let oligarchs “leave out of the rules.”
Five days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilization, a Russian visa company rushed to offer citizens a way out.
“Granada is called ‘Little Switzerland’,” United Passport wrote in a Telegram message on 25 September. “It’s an affordable program for the whole family.”
The visa company said that for as little as $150,000, Russians can become citizens of Grenada.
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But an American flag in the background of the ad points to the real prize: a US visa.
Screenshot of United Passport’s advertisement for applying for a US visa.
The ad was shared in a Telegram message. Screenshot of United Passport Telegram.
In a Telegram channel with over 300,000 subscribers and dedicated to helping Russians get out of their country, United Passport appeared to be taking advantage of the geopolitical situation.
After Putin’s address to the nation on partial military mobilization, thousands of Russians booked flights to countries that offer visa-free entry, such as Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Serbia.
But attorney Irina Batrakova, founding of the Batrakova Law Office, told Insider that her Oregon firm was mainly interrogating Russians to move to the US.
In the Telegram channel United Passport had advertised the possibility of going to the US on an e-2 visa. Russians can only apply for an E-2 visa by first obtaining citizenship in a treaty country, a category that includes Grenada but does not include Russia.
Intercontinental Granada Resort Options
The insider contacted United Passport and posed as a client who wanted to enter the US with his family through Grenada, insisting that Grenada is only a step to a new life in America.
Grenada barred Russians from applying for citizenship through investments after it invaded Ukraine in February. The ban was lifted in July and replaced by “increased scrutiny” of Russian applicants, Carline Purcell, CEO of the investment program by Grenada’s citizenship, told Investment Migration Insider, adding that only non-Russian applications would apply. can do.
In several exchanges on WhatsApp, United Passports told Insider on Wednesday that a business opportunity would give us a Grenadian passport and a US visa in return.
“There are only 300 shares left in InterContinental Hotels,” the company said.
It was referring to partial ownership of the new Intercontinental Granada Resort, an IHG Hotels and Resorts development. The stake would be priced at $316,000. This will give Grenada a passport for “you and your family,” said the visa company, which will entitle you to apply for an E-2, a nonimmigrant visa that typically lasts five years but an unlimited number of years. can be renewed. Times.
A spokesperson for IHG Hotels & Resorts said the company “adheres to the highest ethical standards and has the same requirements for parties.”
Landscape of Carnage harbor, boats, and colorful buildings on hill, St George, Granada.
St. George, Granada. Getty Images
Grenada is the smallest Caribbean state, with a population of about 112,000 – a smaller population than any of the 270 largest cities in the Americas. It was a French and British colony before gaining independence from Britain in February 1974.
Granada has proven to be a hot spot for those looking to relax on its lavish resorts and the many superyachts sailing around its islands.
The Russians have enough money to flee from recruiting in their army and try to enter America. Some are lengthy processes; Grenada strategy is the shortcut.
Using Grenadian Citizenship as a Shortcut
Obtaining an E-2 visa through Grenadian citizenship is cheaper, faster and easier than the alternatives – many of which require a long-standing tie to the US.
The EB-5, an immigrant-investor, or “golden,” visa, has been one of the most popular routes to the US. Recently, this has been complicated by the suspension of non-diplomatic visa services by the US Embassy in Moscow.
“The challenging part will be actually being able to get to the appropriate consulate for a real interview for Visa,” Fadi Minawi, VisaPlace’s lead immigration attorney and managing director, told Insider.
The US State Department has designated the US embassy in Warsaw, Poland, as the site for Russian visa appointments, but Poland closed its borders to Russians in mid-September. According to the embassy website, Russian citizens traveling for a visa appointment require a Schengen visa to enter Poland, but the Polish government reserves the right to deny them entry.
Even before the war in Ukraine, the EB-5 route was by no means a quick way to immigrate to the US and usually takes at least two years to process.
“It can take years for that application to really get through the process,” Minavi said.
According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, 20% of cases are still unresolved after 52 months.
But Granada Shortcut can take at least four months and is about 80% cheaper.
‘Workaround’ strategy
Once a Grenadian passport is obtained, there is technically no minimum investment for an E-2 application. Immigration lawyers told Insider that an investment of at least $50,000 in the US would be necessary for an application to be seriously considered. Therefore, the total cost starts at $200,000 for Russians in actual terms, when including the $150,000 combined passport fee.
However, the expensive EB-5 requires a minimum capital investment of $1.05 million, or a lower investment of $800,000 in the target employment area.
Minavi said the E-2 route, using Grenada as a stepping stone, is a “work-around” for wealthy Russians, who want to save both money and time traveling to the US to avoid being drafted. is trying.
Employees of international companies or family members in the US can apply for other visas, including L-1 visas. But these are not always viable for people who have no ties to the US and are looking for a quick solution. And Minavi said that either option was only available to people with significant money.
‘Skirt the rules’
Gary Kalman, executive director of Transparency International, an organization focused on illicit finance, told Insider that being able to buy his way into the US was a “huge” problem.
The point is not that non-sanctioned Russians trying to evade the draft can enter the US; It’s that the very wealthy are playing up the Russian immigration system, Kalman said.
“We shouldn’t say, ‘Sure, there’s a moral imperative that we want to help these people flee Russia, but we’re only going to do it if you can invest,’” he said. “This is not a humanitarian policy. It is a policy that is inviting some of the wealthiest people in Russia, many of whom have received their money unfairly.”
Kalman said he was concerned about the speed of the e-2 visa process, which leaves little time to investigate an applicant’s source of income, and is concerned about having an intermediary – Grenada – in the process. , which can complicate the labor required. To determine whether money is dirty or clean.
He added that Russians with the level of money needed to participate in such a strategy were likely to involve oligarchs who amassed wealth through “sweetheart deals”. He said it is “highly problematic” to have an immigration system that allows the wealthy to “leave out of the rules”.
It is unclear how many people have applied for e-2 visas since the announcement, partly because the US State Department has not provided updated numbers since August.
But immigration lawyers told Insider that demand was increasing. “There are more calls coming in from Russian citizens,” Minavi said.
Batrakova said: “I would say inquiries have increased by at least 30% to 40%, but I’m being very conservative here. We’ve got a few phone calls, and everyone’s trying to strategize how out Get out.”
The government of Grenada did not respond to an insider’s request for comment.
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Source: www.bing.com
