Nicole Kushner Meyer, the sister of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, was in China over the weekend to lure investments from wealthy Chinese in exchange for American green cards, US media reported.
Meyer attended an event at Beijing's Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Saturday to urge Chinese citizens to invest in a Kushner-owned property in New Jersey in order to obtain US permanent residency on a so-called EB-5 visa, according to a CNN report.
Jared Kushner (L) and Ivanka Trump walk on the South Lawn of the White House to join US President Donald Trump aboard Marine One as they depart the White House in Washington, DC for a trip to New York City on May 4, 2017. /VCG Photo
The EB-5 visa program offers US green cards to foreigners who invests half a million dollars in a US business that creates at least 10 American jobs. Nearly 90 percent of EB-5 visas were issued to Chinese investors in 2014, an AFP report said.
The program has been labeled "US citizenship for sale" and caused controversies after a series of fraud and abuse scandals, a report by The New York Times indicated.
"Invest $500,000 and immigrate to the United States," the Beijing event's brochure claimed, according to a report in The Washington Post.
The New Jersey project, which includes two towers, 1,476 luxury apartments and a medical center for pets, was promoted as “Kushner 1”, The New York Times report said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (L2) and his wife Peng Liyuan (L3) listen as the children of Jared Kushner (R4) and Ivanka Trump (R1) sing a Chinese folk song and recite classics of Chinese literature at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, the US on April 6, 2017. /Xinhua Photo
At the event co-organized by Kushner Companies and Chinese emigration company Qiaowai, Meyer told around 100 Chinese investors that the real estate project "means a lot to me and my entire family" and mentioned her brother's former role as chief executive of Kushner Companies.
"In 2008, my brother Jared Kushner joined the family company as CEO, and recently moved to Washington to join the administration," she said.
Reporters from The New York Times and The Washington Post were asked to leave the event, as a PR representative said: "This is not the story we want."
Similar marketing events are slated for Sunday in Shanghai, before moving on to Shenzhen and Guangzhou in south China the next weekend, according to the website of Qiaowai.
Jared Kushner (L2) and Ivanka Trump (L1) attend a welcome banquet for Chinese President Xi Jinping (R3) and his wife Peng Liyuan (L3) hosted by US President Donald Trump (R2) and First Lady Melania Trump (R1) at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, the US on April 6, 2017. /Xinhua Photo
Jared Kushner, 36, is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka and has been named a senior adviser to the US president.
The couple played an active role in recent high-level communications between the US and China. They were present during Chinese President Xi Jinping's summit with Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last month.
At the invitation of China's Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai, the couple and their daughter Arabella paid a visit to the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC in February to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year.
It was reported that Kushner, who favors diplomacy and win-win solutions, encouraged Trump to support the one-China policy in February after the newly-elected president appeared equivocal on an issue China considers non-negotiable.
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