'Conditional' Green card for buying Foreclosed property - An initiative

[greencard.wait]

I agree. I think we should start sending proposal to them. It's Action time.

I think the correct National Association of Realtors website Find Real Estate Listings, School and Neighborhood Information and More - Realtor.com®

Any idea how to get in touch with them.

Thanks,

Originally Posted by tampacoolie

My suggestion is forward the formal suggestion/proposal to NAR ( National Association of Realtors) and they have strong lobbying arm in the Congress. They had successfully instituted two or three housing credit programs. They milk money ( 12% on each sale) on these real estate transactions. It is their self-interest to see more demand from qualifying borrowers and It is our self-interest to get out of some deep hole in GC process. It is a worth a shot, if we show them that there is a possibility of hundreds of thousands of buyers.


My thoughts are on bold.

[h1techSlave]

It is a general misconception that we need to bring lot of money to the table. The banks have truck loads of money. What they don't have is credit worthy borrowers.

All we need to bring to the table is a decent FICO score and 20% down payment.

Originally Posted by orangutan

I suspect this will fly. Assume US govt will agree to give conditional GC if 10K people will buy the houses 300 K each.

1) Should the Govt wait until all the 10K people fund an Escrow account until all this money comes in there?
2)Or should they just start issuing GC as soon as they recieve a pledge letter?

If the option 1 is true then you would get your GC quicker with the current VB movement.

[h1techSlave]

I would suggest that we go slow on the whole process.

As far as I can see, we ourselves are not very clear on our proposal. 20% down, 100% down, conditional GC, first time buyer etc. etc.

We can use this forum to finalize our proposal. May be run it thru IV senior folks to get their feedback.

Once we are rock solid on what we want we should contact external parties.

Originally Posted by greencard.wait

I agree. I think we should start sending proposal to them. It's Action time.

I think the correct National Association of Realtors website Find Real Estate Listings, School and Neighborhood Information and More - Realtor.com®

Any idea how to get in touch with them.

Thanks,

[greencard.wait]

I think 20% down would be the best for everyone who is ready to buy house.

Please get in touch with IV senior folks to get their feedback.

Originally Posted by h1techSlave

I would suggest that we go slow on the whole process.

As far as I can see, we ourselves are not very clear on our proposal. 20% down, 100% down, conditional GC, first time buyer etc. etc.

We can use this forum to finalize our proposal. May be run it thru IV senior folks to get their feedback.

Once we are rock solid on what we want we should contact external parties.

[khendai]

I have an ambivalent feeling about this conditional greed card thing. I am waiting for GC to invest in a house. But I find it hard for DC folks to empathize with us if we ask for a conditional green card. It will be like selling green cards for their temporary economic issues. Secondly, they can't hold me responsible for not buying a house after getting the card. I could say the market is volatile and I need to wait for few more years.
My suggestion is, we can just tell congressmen that we are legally working here already so no risk of taking over american jobs. However we were not able to invest here because of the uncertainty and our temporary status.
I am in for meeting up with congressmen. I have pleasant experience in the past dealing with Senator Harry Reid, yes I live in Reno, NV. His office was very accommodating during my EAD processing debacle.

[ssanchaniya]

I think 20% is fair for everyone who is ready to buy a house.

Thanks

[velagale]

United states is one country which has always attracted global talent. They give F1 visas to students all over the world. Many F1s are provided even financial aid by their respective universities. These F1s who gained world class eduction end up working for US companies as H1s.

So far , so good.

But, the problem starts here. Now the H1s want to buy a House and guess what, they postpone. They postpone buying houses till they get a Green Card.

The cycle of giving back the US economy is broken here with this weak link. (the GC process).

I hope, majority of the H1s dont have bad credit scores, and hence banks shouldnt have a problem lending them. But who stopping them from applying ?

The US Govt and the broken immigration system.

[smanohar]

1. Will you invest in a new home in your community if a new law allows for such an investment to fast track your green card application and removes wait times?

A. Yes. 1st time buyer.
B. Yes. Investment property (Already own a home in USA)
C. No
D. May be


2. If you answered yes above, what is the anticipated budget range for your housing investment?

A. < 150,000
B. $150,000- 300,000
C. $300,000 - $500,000
D. > $500,000


3. If you answered yes to Q1, what percentage of cost are you able to provide as downpayment?

A. <10%
B. 10-20%
C. 20-50%
D. >50%


4. What prevents you from investing in a home in your current non-immigrant (i.e. non-Green Card) status?

A. Uncertainty of future US permanent residence/ immigrant status
B. Restrictions or bottlenecks in obtaining mortgage in current status
C. Uncertainty about housing market or economy
D. Other personal or financial factors

The only reason we don't own a house right now is that we don't have a GC. We were hoping that the dates will move to 1st August 07 next month and then we would buy a house by the year end.. but looks like we will have to wait at least a year more. And we are not alone.. I personally know few people who are in similar situation and are waiting for that green piece of plastic to buy a home. I have read and heard a lot of arguments about not waiting for GC to make important decisions in your life.. and I kind of agree with them in principal but at the same time I can also understand that people are not willing to make the biggest investment of their life in a country not knowing whether they will be able to enjoy / benefit from that investment. So I support this initiative.

[peacocklover]

1. Will you invest in a new home in your community if a new law allows for such an investment to fast track your green card application and removes wait times?

A. Yes. 1st time buyer.
B. Yes. Investment property (Already own a home in USA)
C. No
D. May be


2. If you answered yes above, what is the anticipated budget range for your housing investment?

A. < 150,000
B. $150,000- 300,000
C. $300,000 - $500,000
D. > $500,000


3. If you answered yes to Q1, what percentage of cost are you able to provide as downpayment?

A. <10%
B.10-20%
C. 20-50%
D. >50%


4. What prevents you from investing in a home in your current non-immigrant (i.e. non-Green Card) status?

A. Uncertainty of future US permanent residence/ immigrant status
B. Restrictions or bottlenecks in obtaining mortgage in current status
C. Uncertainty about housing market or economy
D. Other personal or financial factors

[greencard.wait]

Hi,

I don't see any major movement on this thread and no IV support.

If we want to see change then we have to act fast / smart and to start getting in touch with National Home Association / Realtors / White house / Senator with this idea.

Let me know if want any help in drafting the final version of "Sample Letter".

Thanks,

Originally Posted by honest123

First, GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU---HOPE EVERY EB-2, EB-3, H-1B CAN GET THE CONDITIONAL GREEN CARD FOR BUYING FORECLOSED PROPERTY AFTER WRITING TO WHITE HOUSE.

Also, I know someone who cannot get the H-1B visa or can't get into the EB2 & EB3 due to some accidental reasons and returned to their home countries---I wish they can follow a path to immigrate by what Ritholtz suggests as below:
also to buy a foreclosed house too.

"b. FusionIQ CEO Barry Ritholtz - This one invites people from outside USA which may not be the direction we want to go but the basic idea is good."

"“Drift Lower� Is BEST-Case Scenario for Housing, Ritholtz Says | Daily Ticker - Yahoo! Finance"

[cellphone]

bud,

what about people who already own a home and have been paying mortgage for the past 6 yrs on time every time?


-Cellphone

[helpful_leo]

I propose a bill with language as below. The language and details can of course be modified. I personally think we should keep the language for downpayment as 25-50%, to differentiate from the normal 20% and make it more attractive to lawmakers (I am aware of the argument that the % downpayment is not economically important but still feel it will help the bill gain traction).

Also, only a NEW property, whether a first or 2nd home should qualify- using a current home to qualify defeats the logic and argument behind our proposal and has no chance of passing.

Finally I think the purchase of a foreclosed property has an economic appeal to lawmakers that a regular property does not. Although I too would have preferred to buy a regular home, I am willing to agree to this if it can give me a GC.

I post this only as an attempt to get more inputs to flesh out this proposal and get more details. It is the details and its presentation that are going to be crucial in the bill getting favorable attention:

Investing in the American Dream Act of 2011

Objective: The proposed “Investing in the American Dream Act of 2011” draft bill allows certain eligible aliens who have been lawfully admitted and employed in the United States and have established roots in their respective communities to apply for permanent residence (“Green Card”) without limitations of per-country or annual limits. This bill allows willing aliens to contribute to the solvency and prosperity of their communities by investing in properties that have been put into the foreclosure process.

1.1: An alien shall be deemed eligible for consideration of expedited permanent residence (“Green Card”) if he or she:
a. has already lived in the United States for at least the previous 5 years from the date of passage of this act.
b. During the aforementioned period, has held continuous gainful employment.
c. During the aforementioned period, has paid all federal, state and local taxes.
d. During the aforementioned period, has not been indicted in any criminal or immigration offense.


1.2: An eligible alien (see 1.1) shall qualify for expedited permanent residence (“Green Card”) under the proposed “Investing in the American Dream Act of 2011” if he or she, having fulfilled the conditions elaborated in 1.1, further:
a. agrees to purchase a foreclosed property in his local community that has a current market value of $100,000 or above.
b. agrees to put down a cash payment of between 25 to 50% of the total cost of the property at the time of purchase.

1.3: An eligible alien who has fulfilled the conditions set in 1.2 and having submitted documentary evidence thereof to USCIS to its satisfaction, shall:
a. be provided with I-485 and related benefits within 90 days of receipt of the said evidence by the USCIS.
b. be provided with conditional permanent residence with all legal, employment and travel benefits of regular permanent residence, within 180 days of receipt of the said evidence by the USCIS.
c. the conditional permanent residence shall have an automatic expiry date one year from its date of issue.
d. to convert the conditional permanent residence to regular permanent residence (“Green Card”), the alien applicant will have to provide documentary evidence of his or her continued possession of the property at the time of application for conversion, which shall be no earlier than 90 days from the expiry of the conditional permanent residence.

[imh1b]

Add a sentence that says if any illegal alien, Student visa, visitor visa or exchange visitor visa holder buys a house he gets a house. This will make it very attractive. A lot of people will invest in housing market. It could mean trillions of dollars. What say?

[alex77]

Washington Post: How a change to the visa laws could reverse the housing slump

How a change to the visa laws could reverse the housing slump - Ideas@Innovations - The Washington Post

[idiamin]

I have seen one poster argued about why foreclosure property, yet I see that in the "draft" bill, whats wrong with buying "ANY" property? would my money grow differently in America if I buy a foreclosed property?
Can someone explain in detail how buying a foreclosed property be more beneficial to this country's economy that any other type?