EB5 Investors Magazine Volume 7, Issue 2 | Page 118

HOW TO RAISE EB-5 CAPITAL IN TURKEY Turkey's recent geopolitical challenges and the devaluation of the Lira have been catalysts to increase immigration to the United States through the EB-5 and E-2 programs. By Abteen Vaziri T urkey is a country with a population of around 82 million people and a GDP that is the 19th largest in the world. Turkey’s largest city of Istanbul, which geographically divides Asia and Middle East from Europe, separated by the Bosporus River, boats a population of roughly 15 million and is the most populous city in Europe and the home to almost one fifth of Turkey’s population. Turkey’s central location has come in handy in making Turkey’s military a unique NATO ally as well 118 EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE as important to Russia geopolitically since most Russian ships have to pass through Istanbul’s Bosporus River in order to reach open oceans through the Mediterranean Sea. Although Turkey is a secular republic, the majority of Turkey’s population are Sunni Muslims. To better understand the climate of Turkish migration, knowing parts of its history is helpful. Although parts of modern day Turkey were geographically a part of the Roman Empire, Turkey itself, or the Ottoman Empire the as it is known interchangeably