aldawg

Hello everyone!

New to this forum but hopefully I can share my experience in the E2 visa process as I go to the embassy this month.

I am starting a catering and food truck business in the USA with an American citizen, with the intention to open a small shopfront within two years . I have majority share. I am putting in $46kUSD and my partner is putting in 70kUSD. The reason I am 51% majority share holder is I've been running a proof of concept small business back home (in Australia) for the last year. Using this, I am able to make assumptions in my business plan (how much food I can push out every hour, expected Cost of Goods, expected overheads etc). With this in mind I'm starting a new business from scratch in the USA.

The startup costs (costs of the truck, initial outlay of inventory, commercial kitchen leases, packaging, food etc is) is around $58kUSD.

Given the required investment is $58k and my foreign investment is $46k, can you see this causing any issues in the application process? I have read elsewhere that they could treat the whole situation independent of whether I have a business partner with funding.

I kindly look forward to any responses!

Al

civilservant

What is your ultimate goal with respect to the US? Staying permanently? Getting the business up and running and returning to your home country?

aldawg

Hey civilservant, thanks for responding

My goal is to get the business up and running for at least 8- 10 years with the intention of opening further food trucks/stores. Depending on how well it goes I may apply for an eb5, or sell it and return to Australia. From what I see this means I would renew the visa once as an Australian

scrubbedexpat099

Seems very low, how many Employees will you have?

aldawg

Thanks for responding Boiler!

From day 1 it will have 3 part-time employees (I'll always have employees as there are multiple roles to have a good flow of food service, and will hire more employees at large festival and events, and as I grow catering contracts).

I know the investment seems low, but there's a solid business plan with assumptions that are based off prior year financials.

aldawg

Hey guys. Just thought I'd add that the visa was approved with the details I mentioned above! A solid and well researched business plan, compelling cover letter, some business experience (even if it's minimal!), and an honest conversation at the visa interview can go along way. Also done with a lawyer reviewing the documents on an hourly basis (to save $$). Thank you for all the help on this forum.

tom169

Congrats! Good luck with the move and business!

Jerseygirl

Congratulation. Thanks for taking the trouble to come back and update us.

Good luck.

IrishBrazilian

@aldawg - I'm very happy for you. That is some great news!
Could you PM me the contact for the lawyer that you used?

Thanks, Marc.

Ray

https://www.usvisalawgroup.com/

S Folinsky

Kehrela is a good person.

aldawg

I didn't use a lawyer in this process besides a 3-hour review/consultation. His name is David Immigration Law, he is a great contact for Australians. If you're interested in finding a good lawyer check out avvo.

chitam

Hi aldawg,
Congratulations for your E2! I am going to renew my E2 visa in October. I haven't done any cover letter either for my first application or for my first renewal in the past. So I really need some tips for the compelling cover letter you mentioned.
1. How many pages shoud it have? I've wrote only one for mine.
2. Any sample to follow? I know that the different business require different writing


Thanks in advance

Jerseygirl

I suggest you open a new thread and post your questions there...as your post is likely to be overlooked in this thread. Thanks.

aldawg

Hey Chitam, I have absolutely no idea about E2 renewals as I just had my initial application approved! But good luck with it