US: CBI PASSPORTS CANNOT BE USED TO DO AN END RUN AROUND TRUMP'S PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION BLOCKING VISAS FROM HIGH-RISK JURISDICTIONS

 

The US government agency, CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES (CIS), in a Policy Memorandum issued yesterday, has ruled that citizens of "high-risk" jurisdictions which president Donald Trump has blocked, in a Presidential Proclamation, from obtaining visas to the United States cannot use a Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passport to enter America. CBI passports have been under attack from the United Kingdom, the European Union (EU), and the United States in recent months, for a number of reasons, including National Security, lack of Due Diligence, lack of actual residence in the adopted jurisdiction, and abuse by criminals and intelligence agents., and it is anticipated that additional restrictions and prohibitions will be imposed upon their use by national governments.

This Policy Statement, which first appeared in print through Los Angeles immigration attorney, Parviz Malakouti, who also pointed out that CBI passports may soon not be welcome to enter the United States for any purpose, specifically relies upon National Security grounds as authority  for the CIS action. What effect it will have upon the investment migration industry, the private sector which sells CBI citizenships and passports to the investing public is not known, but it will most certainly affect the desirability of economic citizenships acquired to evade American visa restrictions.