richyje7727

Dear All,

We have been looking into moving over to the US from the UK for the past 6 months. Generally, we are looking on going on an E2 Investor Visa.

We have just been out to Austin, to check out schools and the general area, and have seen a CPA whilst out in the Austin area.

The business I am looking to start is an IT consultancy. We would be installing smart home technology in residential properties and also may have a branch of the business that maintains small office IT systems (Desktops, Network and Servers).

This would be a startup business, rather than purchasing an existing business.

I am keen not to spend a small fortune in applying and possibly being rejected an E2.

I have calculated costs to be so far as follows...

$1200 CPA, Company formation and filings for new company
$4000 Immigration Attorney - processing of E2 Application
$1600 Business Plan
$??? Other fee's ie filing fees, application fees etc

I have a few questions...

1. Do I need an immigration attorney to process the application for the E2 Visa ? Could I do this myself ?
2. Is it possible for me to create a business plan or do I require professional help ?
3. Is it a requirement that the Business is setup prior to applying for the E2 Visa ? or can this be setup once I have approval ?

Many Thanks for your help,

Richard

BenK91

I personally feel like an experienced attorney would be very useful for this.

Not to say you can't do it yourself... But an attorney with experience of this particular visa could be invaluable.

Certainly worth speaking to some and seeing if they'll offer a free consultation.

Awesome Welles

$1600 for a business plan - are you not going to create that yourself?

That business plan should demonstrate a need to hire US personnel (USC or LPR).
It will also be the basis upon which you are judged at renewal time (assuming your petition is successful), so it needs to be reasonable, achievable and realistic.

An E2 petition needs to demonstrate 'substantial' investment - not evident in what you have shared at this point.

I have not petitioned an E2 business, but I did a successful E1 and I think there is a lot of commonality in them.

richyje7727

Thanks for the replies...

We would be looking at investing approx $100,000 or there about.

md95065

That sounds rather low to me, both from the perspective of getting the business off the ground and growing it to the point where it is sustainable, and from the perspective of getting an E2 visa. An immigration attorney who is experienced in E2 visas would be able to advise you about that.

richyje7727

yes, I have spoken to an immigration attorney and they have said this is the amount required.

richyje7727

I dont want to go off topic, so am reposting the questions I had asked...

1. Do I need an immigration attorney to process the application for the E2 Visa ? Could I do this myself ?
2. Is it possible for me to create a business plan or do I require professional help ?
3. Is it a requirement that the Business is setup prior to applying for the E2 Visa ? or can this be setup once I have approval ?

Pulaski

There is no specific amount, but it has to be "substantial", it has to create enough income to not be a "subsistence business" (not just barely enough for you and your family to live on*), and also has to have the potential/likelihood of quickly growing to hire Americans and contribute to the US economy, otherwise come visa renewal time you will be leaving the US so quickly you won't have time to wind everything up - think two weeks!

In terms of a business plan I would expect to see data supporting revenue projections: how much do you expect to receive for the services offered? And how many customers do expect to pay for your services? Where did you get those numbers?

* How much you will spend living in the US might surprise you, and has been discussed a number of times on other threads, but suffice to say in this thread, that I wouldn't want to try to survive with my family on only $50,000 per annum.

Nutmegger

It’s hard to respond appropriately when we don’t know your capabilities. Are you meticulous with paperwork? Have you written business plans in the past? If so, do you understand just what the adjudicator will be looking for in your plan? I believe that, even if you have not actually rented premises and vehicles, your investment needs to be shown to be “at risk,” in other words escrowed in anticipation of you making the outlay. The fact that you are asking these questions indicates your lack of knowledge of the process and perhaps means that you do need the services of an E-2 expert attorney.

richyje7727

Thanks Nutmegger !

I guess what I am asking is if many people have attempted an E2 Visa application without enlisting the help of an immigration attorney.

In regards to the business plan, I understand that it needs to show that the business has real potential to succeed - which it does. It also has the potential to grow into a substantial business hiring US citizens. However, as this will be a startup this will take time to realise this potential. I am not expecting to hire US staff for the first year. I need to build the business and reputation first.

Octang Frye

It's been a long time and I don't remember exactly, but isn't there no path to a green card through an E2? And it can be cancelled/not renewed at any time.

shiversaint

$100,000 of committed funds is definitely enough.

They are more interested in the applicant establishing that those a sunk costs, and the investment is not redeemable or extractable.

The typical way is committing to the lease of an office space.

shiversaint

Your former point is generally correct. Your latter point is the same as any other non-immigrant visa, the E2 isn't any higher risk on that front, other than the business needing to remain functional in a legal and solvent way. As soon as the business stops then the E2 visa stops too.

shiversaint

"Potential" won't be enough. You'll need tangible evidence that you'll meet your projections, be it heads of terms with USCs or businesses, demonstration that your exact model has worked elsewhere etc.

E2 applicants are expected to contribute to the economy in a "significant" way. Subsistence business are not allowed, and I think without a lot of supporting material, you'll look like a risky proposition on this front. Almost all E2 applications that sail through factor in employing USCs, and ideally you will have already courted potential applicants.

E2 applications have become quite strict lately, FYI. Given you aren't in a slam dunk situation, I wouldn't consider doing this without an experienced E2 attorney.

Also, if you aren't sure if you can write a business plan good enough for an E2 application, then in my opinion (all personal of course), you're not going to be able to withstand the questions the E-Unit Consular Officers will aim at you when assessing your application. They all have business degrees for this very reason. You should be able to write a 5 year business plan that makes sense and is realistic, almost from memory. E2 visas are not for very speculative efforts.

richyje7727

In my view any startup business is speculative. It is down to the owner to lead the business in the direction of building a customer base. This is done through hard work, persistence and good customer service.

The business I am looking to startup is that of an IT business. We would be installing smart home technology into residential homes. This is an emerging market and i believe I would do very well in providing those services. I realise these are nice to have unessential services which will one day become the norm to have these in all our homes. A sidearm to the business is to provide support to businesses in the city or local surrounding area's. This would be supporting their computer networks. This side of the business is more of an essential need - so this is a failsafe option to support the growth in the other arm of the business.

In regards to the business plan. Yes, I can write a 5 year business plan and can illustrate projections that show significant growth and the hiring of USC or LPR's, which would be essential in growing the business.

I am shocked by the amount of negative comments, it appears nothing is possible without $100,000,000 to invest, the hiring of a small town as employees and a guaranteed business plan that hits all its projections. If this is the case, I am sure the US would have very few E2 applications.

It appears that there are a number of people on this forum that do not understand the topic in discussion and are merely replying with unrelated worthless information. I am not interested in personal opinions, I am interested in concrete fact preferably through previous experience.

If the US accept E2 applicants looking to startup a restaurant or an ice cream parlour, surely they would consider something more elaborate.

I am sorry for the moan, but I am more of a glass half full guy.