Firm wants $250 million against New Jersey Trump tower; links to White House and EB-5 visa programme is causing concern.The Kushner family real estate company is seeking a $250-million loan to pay back Chinese investors in a New Jersey luxury tower but finding some major US banks wary of the controversies around its White House links and the visa programme used to attract the investors.Kushner Cos. is sending out feelers for the loan against its 50-storey Trump Bay Street in Jersey City. It would keep $50 million and use the rest to repay the investors and pay off a mortgage on the building, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.The company, which belongs to the family of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump ’s son-in-law and senior adviser, funded about a quarter of the $194-million development through the EB-5 visa programme that grants wealthy foreigners green cards in exchange for investing in US projects.Some large US banks are shying away from the transaction because of the property’s connection to Kushner and the visa programme, the person said. Unregulated lenders and non-US banks will probably step into the breach. A Kushner Cos. spokesman declined to comment.The EB-5 program requires a foreigner to invest at least $500,000 in a project that helps an area with high unemployment or in need of development in exchange for a permanent resident visa.CONGRESSIONAL CONCERNThe Kushners’ reliance on EB-5 has come under criticism. Last week, three Democratic congressmen sent a letter to Kushner Cos. asking for information about how it has used EB-5. The letter raised concerns that the company’s participation in the programme, including recent investor pitches in China , could pose conflicts for Jared Kushner’s policymaking role in the White House. Last month, Kushner Cos. was forced to pull out of an EB-5 presentation following criticism that Kushner’s sister invoked the company’s links to Trump as a selling point for investors in their deals.