Dale Bumpers: “Yesterday the United States was selling citizenship. The program was supposed to spur job creation. The investors have…”

“Yesterday the United States was selling citizenship. The program was supposed to spur job creation. The investors have the money to spend, and the benefits are worth it to them. Is it fair to open a door to citizenship but let only the rich pass through? Of course not. But that is what is done. Now there are new problems. Years after the program was established companies began springing up to pool investments and people seeking those visa. A Virginia firm called the InterBank Group plans to use some of that capital to build two telemarketing centers in southern West Virginia. They say: The InterBank ran into trouble in California where the Department of Corporations in March indicated that the company was luring investors who had no way of knowing that their investment would qualify them for a visa. InterBank says it was all a misunderstanding and is being worked out. Meanwhile, INS is reexamining the foreign investment deal, including InterBank, and hoping to set up stricter rules. InterBank maintains its deal should pass muster and is going ahead with the telemarketing centers. But the money is tied up until INS makes a call. That the visa program has run into trouble shouldn't be a shock to anyone.”