Here is our latest edition of our Monthly Newsletter “Know your Rights”. In this edition we will discuss investors and work visas. How do you come to the United States legally and invest to benefit you and your family?
There are three types of visas that can allow you to do that, which are:
E-2 Treaty Investor Visa:
• It is a renewable type of visa that you can renew every two years.
• It allows you to be in the country legally, work, and travel outside of the United States at any time.
• It requires your home country to have a commerce treaty with the United States. If you want to know more about whether your country has one or not, you can contact us for more information.
• You must have a substantial investment in that business in order to qualify. Additionally, you must develop and direct the business; this does not mean to create it from the ground up. Because of this, purchasing an existing business is an attractive option.
• Funding for the investment must come from a legitimate source.
• You may be able to bring employees along with you for this type of visa.
• It will extend to your immediate family: spouse and children (if any).
L-1 Visa:
• Unlike the E-2 Visa, this is not for investors, but rather it is a work visa.
• This work visa allows for the transfer of employees from one company to the other, in this case to the United States.
• It can be used to open a branch of an existing business. Let’s say you have a branch of the company in a foreign country and you want to open a new branch in the U.S, you can do that through the L-1 Visa.
• One of the key requirements is that the employee must have worked for the company for at least 1-3 years before the person arrives in the United States.
• The employee must have a managerial or executive capacity in the company or must have a specialized knowledge in the company.
• The visa is also renewable. But the difference between this one and the E-2 is that it opens a path to permanent residency. It is very attractive to business people who would like the possibility of living permanently in the U.S along with their family.
EB-5 Visa:
• The E-B5 Visa is also called the millionaire visa. Why? Because it requires a very large investment of at least $500,000.
• What does that visa offer you? It allows you to have permanent residence within the first two years.
• In addition to the investment, it requires the creation at least 10 jobs.
• One aspect that attract so many people is that you can be a passive investor or an active entrepreneur where you deal and direct the enterprise.
• After being approved you will receive a conditional residence for two years and after two years you can have your permanent residence in the United States.
If you have any comments or want us to cover a certain topic please let us know.
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter.
Sincerely,
Christian Veras, Esq.
DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this article is for educational use only. The information contained in it does not constitute legal advice and an attorney-client relationship is not created by reading this post.
You can also see our Youtube video on these visas by visiting the link below.
