Texas state Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas), who was recently revealed on social media as dating Rebecca Acuna, the Texas director of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, is the co-founder and managing director with Civitas Capital Group, a company that provides U.S. green cards through the EB-5 immigrant investor program and has ties to the Chinese government.

Critics of Anchia, who was once named as a Latino political rising star by the San Francisco Chronicle, also have raised questions about a situation in 2017 when he was able to pay off a $74,000 tax lien from 2016 against a property he owns.

The ties between Civitas and China date back to at least 2014, when the firm announced it had “strengthened” its investments, wealth management and EB-5 visa program for Chinese customers. Additionally, the firm added a new China-facing web presence in 2015 to promote it’s wealth management and EB-5 activities to Chinese citizens.

Anchia and Acuna | File photo

“The U.S. government’s EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program provides foreign nationals with an opportunity to obtain U.S. permanent residency for themselves and their immediate family members for investing in American businesses that create new jobs,” Civitas states on its website.

In order to purchase a U.S. green card that provides the ability to become a U.S. resident, immigrants must make an investment that is indicated on paper as creating 10 jobs in the U.S., the website states. However, once that quota is met, that individual can also obtain an immediate and permanent green card for a spouse and any unmarried children under 21.

In advertising the green cards for purchase, Civitas lists multiple benefits of taking advantage of the program, including unrestricted access to the U.S., access to Medicare and Social Security, and the ability to avoid government review of the green card so long as the holder renews it every 10 years.