Investors
U.S. IMMIGRATION INTRODUCTION TO INVESTOR VISAS AND GREEN CARDS
[For a list of articles see below]
Investors from many countries find interest in U.S. investments. There are various options available and we will summarize them for you.
In summary, the choices include:
• E-1 and E-2 visas
• L-1 visa
• Investment-related Green Card or EB-5
The ‘E’ visa group
The E visa is our favorite. If you belong to one of the many treaty countries, you have the option of investing a small amount of money (we have found that it can be as low as $75,000 to $100,000) and obtain a visa that is renewable for many years (there is no set limit), allowing you to grow your company and prosper.
The difference between an E-1 and E-2 is that the E-1 is for people involved in import-export, and the E-2 is for all other investors. You can start your own company, have a U.S. partner, purchase a current business, or even open a franchise.
There are many special requirements for this visa, but if you meet them, you will have a wonderful opportunity to prosper in our large marketplace.
The L-1 visa
In our opinion, this visa is one of the hardest visas to obtain. The visa is for two types of persons: executives and managers, as well as persons with specialized knowledge.
Immigration lawyers more often hear from managers and executives. These people are able to obtain a Green Card one year later in the highest category available to workers: the EB-1. Managers and Executives can remain for a period of up 7 years, while people under the Specialized Knowledge category can remain up to 5. Persons in the Specialized Knowledge area cannot apply for the EB-1 Green Card.
The L-1 is for persons who work outside the U.S. for at least a year of the past three as managers or executives. These people or their companies then open a branch, subsidiary or affiliate in the United States and are transferred as Managers or Executives to this company. The visa that allows them to do this is the L-1.
Now, if you use strategy, you can use this visa in reverse. Let’s say you have a small company and enter on an E-2 visa as an investor, which makes it hard to obtain a Green Card. Let’s also say you fall in love with the States and want to live here permanently. You can open a company abroad and become a Manager or Executive of that company, allowing you to then apply for a Change of Status (the immigration law term for changing visas) to an L-1. Now you have opened up the opportunity for obtaining a Green Card, which, as an E-2, would not be possible.
The EB-5 Green Card
This Green Card case requires you to invest $1 million USD (U.S. dollars) in a company, and employ 10 U.S. workers for a period of 2 years. If you are in an area of high unemployment, you can invest as little as $500,000 (for example, if you were in manufacturing rather than tourism).
This Green Card would then allow you to live here for the rest of your life. The card you originally obtain is conditional, meaning that you would have to fulfill all of its conditions in order to make it permanent.
It is a very strict Green Card with many detailed requirements. Not often your best choice, but if you are not from a treaty country and the L-1 does not work for you, then it may be your only choice.
Tomorrow is the result of today’s choices—
where will YOU be one year from now?
Article:
2010 Visa Lottery begins October 2nd (10/01/08)
