Forget the Red Card. Get the Green Card

In order to finance the construction of a new stadium, the Orlando City MLS soccer team in Florida is offering a sweet deal for foreign investors. For a $500,000 investment, they get the usual investor perks of season tickets and a dividend, as well as something far more useful: A U.S. Green Card.

They are part of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program that gives permanent residence to foreign “entrepreneurs” (and their spouses and unmarried children under 21) who make a minimum investment of a $500,000 that creates or preserves at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers.

It was a business decision. There was already demand from people who want to move to the U.S., have a green card, and a good opportunity to participate in the growth of the club. The construction of the 25,000-seat stadium – scheduled to open for the 2017 season – will be the first time that a profession MLS soccer team has used the 26-year-old EB-5 program for stadium construction.