In a recent article in Bloomberg Law, New York Private Wealth partner Kathryn von Matthiessen talks about her views on whether the United States' remains a popular destination for foreigners looking to emigrate, arguing that the US is still a country where many of the global elite look to conduct business, educate their children and invest their assets to protect their fortunes.

"Most families I work with are looking to create dynastic wealth. That means they have to manage political volatility and geographic volatility," Kathryn said.

The article focuses, in particular, on people who may be looking to emigrate from Hong Kong in the wake of the region's intensifying protests. However, the US's anti-immigrant political rhetoric, problems with gun violence and changes to its "investor visa" program have led many people looking to consider other countries, such as Australia, Canada, Singapore and Taiwan.

Visa applicants to the US could also have to wait years to hear back from the US Department of Homeland Security because of the department's backlog of paperwork. This past June alone, the US Department of Homeland Security had 930,311 pending cases, double the amount from 2015.

Another barrier to immigrating to the US is the country's costly tax rules, including laws that require new immigrations to disclose all foreign holdings to the Internal Revenue Service.

While the US has become a less popular destination, family connections and the EB-5 investor visa program, which allows anyone to become a US resident if they are willing to invest $500,000 in a business or other project, continues to makes the country an attractive place to immigrate.

Read, "For Anxious Hong Kong Elite, the US Isn't the Top Escape Route," in its entirety.