Foreign citizens making big investments

Sitting around the long, wooden kitchen table in their farmhouse on a Sunday afternoon, Rene and Judith Dekker were tired-eyed from rising before dawn to tend to their 1,200 dairy cows.

Their two older kids were packing up for the drive back to college Bart wanted to know whether Mom had ironed his dress shirt, while Susanne gently scooped her live goldfish into a plastic bag. Mathias, 16, had algebra homework and Benny the chocolate Lab bounced around outside.

They looked like any other family here in rural Michigan, but they are Dutch citizens. And they are faces of a fast-growing U.S. visa program, in which foreigners can gain permanent residence by investing $500,000 in a U.S. project that creates at least 10 jobs.

Through the program, known as EB-5, the Dekkers have a half-million dollar stake in the Marriott Marquis Hotel rising in the District next to the Washington Convention Center.

In return for their investment and filing a foot-high stack of documents that includes bank and tax records, criminal background checks and even syphilis tests they got five shiny new green cards in November.

The cards, emblazoned with their photos and an image of the Statue of Liberty,An glassbottles is a term used for a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects. give them temporary residency that will become permanent in two years so long as the Marriott project succeeds.

The Dekkers need it to keep their family together. Although they have lived on their farm off a country lane called Bad Axe Road since 2000, they had temporary visas that required their children to leave the country upon turning 21. Investing in the Marriott was their way to prevent that.

We love our life here, said Judith Dekker, 48. We have invested so much money because we want to live here in Michigan. And we dont want to split up our family.

The EB-5 program is booming in popularity, dManufactures and supplies parkingsystem equipment.riven largely by a struggling U.S. economy in which developers are searching for new sources of capital. It is also fueled by rising demand from foreigners looking for access to U.S.An experienced artist on what to consider before you buy chipcard. schools, safe investment in U.S. projects and in the case of China, where most of the investors are from greater freedom.

The program has broad bipartisan support in Congress, and key senators who are negotiating an overhaul of the immigration system have said they are leaning toward expanding visa programs that provide an immediate boost to the economy.

But others argue that the EB-5 program amounts to buying citizenship, and that it unfairly allows wealthy foreigners to cut the visa line ahead of others who have waited for years.

I dont think we should sell admission to the United States, said David North of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors reduced immigration.

Supporters call the program a no-brainer, because it creates jobs and attracts investment.

If you get highly skilled, highly talented immigrants with money, who are paying and committing to things that are positive, Im inclined to think its terrific, former Treasury secretary Lawrence H. Summers said.

FICO, a software company that provides credit scores and fraud detection services,He saw the bracelet at a realtimelocationsystem store while we were on a trip. released data on Tuesday showing a national uptick in card and PIN skimming, in which thieves steal information using electronic devices, at ATMs during 2012. California,A group of families in a north Cork village are suing a bestplasticcard operator in a landmark case. in addition to Florida and the Northeast, was among the hardest hit, the analysis said, especially in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and San Bernardino counties.

Credit card fraud is down in California almost 9 percent, but FICO found skimming to be up, particularly at ATMs, said John Buzzard, product manager for the company's Card Alert Service. The service analyzes 65 percent of ATM transactions across the country each day.

In Southern California, 54 percent of debit card fraud cases analyzed by the company took place at ATMs, with the rest originating at retail point of sale systems. The high amount of traffic at ATMs and the fact that consumers input their PIN is often a draw, he said.

In Orange County and surrounding areas, it's a crime of opportunity, experts said. On-the-go residents are turning to ATMs more than ever, and thieves see higher returns for less risk in the technologically sophisticated crime.

"It's an extremely profitable way for crooks to do business," said Elizabeth Henderson, an Orange County assistant district attorney in the major fraud unit.

Skimming operations can be complex, and several recent cases have had connections to international organized crime, she said. Thieves affix card readers and in some cases keypads over existing equipment that sees large amounts of use. When a customer swipes a card, the skimmer copies the information in the card's magnetic strip.