Beijing now has 76 agencies engaged in immigration business. In previous years, skill immigration took up a large portion of their business. However, as an increasing demand for better family development among Chinese rich people and substantial brokerage fee in investment immigration, agencies prefer to persuade qualified people to pursue green card by making investments.

For one investment immigration case, agencies usually charge 100,000 yuan per person for brokerage fee and $15,000 for attorney fee. In addition, there will be $30,000 to $60,000 management fee paid to investment organization overseas.

"A consultant only gets 500 yuan for every immigration case. If we stand on behalf of a company's interests, of course, we prefer doing investment immigration," Peggy He, Chief Immigration Consultant at Beijing Kaisheng Union Exit Entry Affairs Services Co, said.

"We admit it is risky to take part in these investment programs," Liu Jingjing, consultant from Beijing Kaisheng, told METRO. "But what we choose are relative safe programs. So far as I know, all cases we conducted are progressing well."

Qi said his association had received complaints over some investment immigration cases. A woman surnamed Zhang said she had entrusted a Beijing agency last year, but later, she found the brokerage fee the agency charged was far beyond the original sum.

"This is a financial game. Chinese immigrant investors have little room to gain benefit," Qi said, "Applicants are most likely to become biggest losers; foreign investment organizations are the biggest winners; domestic agencies play an active role to push the wave and help the boat."