Here’s a little known secret out there for all you Producers looking to raise money internationally, and for all you wealthy foreign nationals looking to obtain green card status in our fair country.

Have you heard of the EB-5 visa?

You can read the legal definition from the US Citizen and Immigration Service’s website here, but in a nutshell it’s this:

Invest $1,000,000 in a new commercial enterprise that creates at least 10 jobs, and the US Government will give you a green card.

Yeah. You heard it right . . . you can buy your green card if you can put 7 figures in a new US job-creating business.

And aren’t there about 20 or so of those every year on Broadway???  (Sorry, non-profs – the rule is for commercial enterprises only – we’ve actually got an advantage over you for this one!)

This has been a very popular way for the wealthy of the world to obtain legal US status since the EB-5 was enacted in 1990.  But, I haven’t heard this used for a Broadway show as of yet.

But it should be.

Certainly there are uber-wealthy individuals out there that would like to invest in a Broadway show and get opening night tickets, a shot at a Tony Award . . .  and a green card.  Right?

We just have to make them aware of it . . . which means Broadway Producers getting out overseas to investment conferences, meeting with family investment offices, etc.

Oh, and get this . . . apparently, the EB-5 has been such a win-win for both sides that, according to this HuffPo article, the US Senate is looking at another visa with lower investment thresholds!  In the EB-6, a foreign national would only have to invest $100k in a business that generates at least three jobs (the catch is that the visa would be limited to three years residency in the US).

Our politicians see this visa as a way to reduce unemployment and revive our economy.

I see it as a way for us to revitalize Broadway.

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