texasdream

First off, this is by far the best forum I have ever signed up to. You've all been so helpful and really honest, so I like your candid approach.

Okay, for my questions.

If I have £100,000 in savings and a couple of potential USC friends who are interested in a business partnership in the Financial sector, is this a viable route to a visa and what visa would this potentially be?

Does having a USC business partner have any additional benefit?

I understand that without full details of the business and my background this is a tough question to answer, but i"m just looking for a general indication right now because this is a longer term approach and I can always gain further skills if necessary.

Thanks in advance.

S Folinsky

General comment, an E-2 non-immigrants investor visa requires at least 50% ownership by citizens of the treaty country.

Back in the day, the interpretation was 50% plus. (That has since been changed). Toyota and General Motors once had a 50/50 joint venture in California (now defunct, the factory is now Tesla Motors). To keep the 50/50 with Toyota having majority ownership, Toyota purchased 100 shares of GM stock.

I give this as an example of an operation with both foreign and US ownership.

There may be other ways to handle things depending on the specific facts. Consultation with an attorney experienced in business immigration might be advisable.

kateinbrooklyn

You are obviously really determined to move to the USA and I really hope you manage to do so. If you can, I would recommend that you schedule a meeting with an immigration lawyer to advise you based on your educational and job history. It costs about $150 for a consult which you can do via the phone or Skype and they will explore all the options with you. There is some good advice in the pinned posts about how to find a good lawyer.

texasdream

S Folinsky - Yes, a consultation seems to be the way forward here. Thanks for the response.

kateinbrooklyn - Haha, yes it's the only thing I've always been certain I wanted. Unfortunately I was a in a long term relationship with a man who hates America so it's a dream that was put on hold until now. I think yes, a consultation will be the best approach to at least narrow down the options.

scrubbedexpat099

Is this 100k mad money to invest, what do you have to live on?

texasdream

100k is savings plus whatever income I can accumulate from the new business.

I have a business now that is mostly passive, but that's negligible and not guaranteed so I treat it as a bonus rather than a solid income source.

scrubbedexpat099

Seems any investment would be pretty small.

texasdream

Yes, it's definitely not a grand scheme. Clutching at straws more than anything to see if it can be done without going down the marriage route. I could have more to invest, but it depends on how the next few months go. At this rate it seems that buying a green card for 500k will be the best bet lol. Will keep drawing straws and see what happens.