mancityfan

I am a British citizen and have lived in the US since June 2007, first on E2 (Husband is specialist employee) then on H4 since Oct 1st 2009 (Husband is now H1B). I have been looking into setting up a business (education franchise) in my area since I moved here, but because my Husband's visa changed it means I will need to apply for an E2 investor.

I have a few questions and hope someone can help me

1. Can I apply for an E2 investor visa while on an H4 and living in US? (not domicile in UK). We have sold our house in UK but FAM N15 states "an applicant for an E visa need not have a residence in a foreign country which the applicant does not intend to abandon" but I've read some blogs where people have been refused on this rule.

2. Do I have to put my Husband and children (14 and 11) on my application and will immigration hold his H1B against me (he's not applied for a green card and we don't know if we will)

3. I will probably employ people mainly on a part-time basis due to the nature of the business, will this be ok?

I've read many conflicting stories on several forums but this one seems the most consistent, can anyone help?? Thanks!

ian-mstm

Yes. However, while you're on an H-4 I'm not sure if you can actually do any work to set up the business in advance. Also, you can't actually get the visa while you're in the US. You will need to leave the US to get the visa in your passport, and then return to the US using that visa. I'm not sure about the residence question, so I'll leave that for others.


If the application form asks for their information, yes... otherwise, no. His current H-1B will not be held against you.


Of this, I'm not sure.

Ian

Ray

Go to this more E-2 orientated forum
www.thefloridaforums.com

you may have a problem with P/T employees ..its all about employing americans

Bill_S

Perhaps I'm remembering incorrectly, but I thought that for a UK citizen to be eligible for an E-2 investor visa, that citizen had to be a resident of the UK (per the Treaty). Does living in the US as an H4 complicate that? Time to ask a good lawyer.

mancityfan

Thanks for your replies. The requirements say you have to be a national of the country that has the treaty which I assume I still am.

With the H4 I can still do all the legwork to set the business up without actually making any income (training, signing franchise agreement, leasing unit etc).

I have spoken to an immigration lawyer and he doesn't seem to think being in the US is a problem but I just wanted to see if anyone out there had any similar situations. I'll keep looking into it. Please feel free to provide any more info if anyone gets it.

scrubbedexpat099

I am going to assume you understand the difference between status and visa, there would seem plenty of opportunity to a lot of the leg work without breaching the terms of an H4.

Despite the H being a stepping stone to a GC it is supposed to be primarily a temporary visa, so you should not have an issue with domicile.

Just wondering about the capital investment, usually these are set up to minimise your investment, you need to maximise it.

As far as employees are concerned, if they are part time you just need more of them.

JAJ

Perhaps read:
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/e.html

Folinskyinla

Hi:

There is a quirk in the UK/US treaty which was signed in 1815 long before the US even had immigration laws! A UK national must also be resident in Europe.

Consult with a lawyer who knows something about E-2's.