Why? Because it could be! It was a business decision. What makes you think that selling the business had anything to do with immigration?

Ian

The children can apply for any visa for which they're eligible... even their own E-2. You have no idea how wealthy they might be in 10 years if dad's business does well.


Your thinking suggests you're comfortable only with 2-dimensional concepts. You really have no imagination, do you?

Ian

Now who's feeding the troll?

These are poor reasons to move to the US, which has by far a more stressful work environment than the UK (e.g. no requirement for holidays at all and an at-will work standard in most States - i.e. they can fire you for any reason) and the healthcare situation is far more complex and expensive.

There are two main investor categories, E-2, which is a non-immigrant category, which means you never get any kind of permanent status, which means your kids will eventually age out at 21 and have no status. Requires an unspecified "significant" investment and has to be renewed every 2 years, cannot be a "subsistence" job.

EB-5 is immigrant investor, requires $500,000 in a targeted investment area, else a $1 million investment generally. Either you do it, which requires 10 US citizens or LPRs to be employed by you either directly or indirectly or you go through an "investor center" which is usually the preferred option.

I think they've run out of available visa numbers though, so unless Congress renews the programme then it's not an option, but they probably will.

Where does the idea that E-2's cannot adjust status? They often can and do.

I already alluded to the idea that someone can come in as an E-2 and turn it into an investor category under EB-5. Also, sometimes, it can be done under EB-1 [either intracompany transfer or extraordinary ability]. This is what good immigration lawyers do.

Well I meant E-2 doesn't directly give you the ability to adjust status. I mean, if you enter on E-2 then have $500,000 and apply for EB-5 or get married, etc. you can apply for AOS.

We all understand that an E-2 does not prevent someone from obtaining a green card, but I am not aware of any way that an E-2 provides a foundation for a green card application that is not open to other non-immigrants?

Case study question:
I am a British citizen and I have lived in Florida for 10 years on an E-2 visa with my wife. We have run a gas station and convenience store with only modest success. We own a $300,000 house on which we still owe $150,000, we have $75,000 in a 401k, and $37,500 in cash. My wife is a British citizen who has not worked outside our E-2 business.

I have a twin brother who has, with his wife, run a gas station and convenience store in the UK with only modest success. He has a £200,000 house on which he still owes £100,000 and he has £50,000 in a "private pension", and £25,000 in cash. His wife is a British citizen.

In every significant detail my brother's life is identical to mine, except that he and his wife are British citizens living in the UK whereas my wife and I live in the US on E-2 visas.

Question: what opportunities to obtain a green card are open to me because of my E-2 visa status that are not open to my twin brother?

That's a big if for a business to do that. As I have said these sort of things seldom turn out to be what you hope they will be. Look at wanted down under on bbc in the mornings they take families who want to move to Australia or New Zealand over there for a week and they get their eyes wiped.

I completely see your point, but I don't see how is it legally any different to the following case study:-

Case study question:
I am a British citizen and I have lived Redmond,WA for 5 years on an L-1 visa with my wife. I work as a software developer with reasonable success but not a superstar. We own a $500,000 house on which we still owe $150,000, we have $75,000 in a 401k, and $37,500 in cash. My wife works as a teaching assistant at a local school on the L-2.

I have a twin brother who works as a software developer in Bristol with reasonable success but not a superstar. He has a £350,000 house on which he still owes £100,000 and he has £50,000 in a "private pension", and £25,000 in cash. His wife is a British citizen who works at a local school.

OK - in practice I have the advantage that I already proved my worth to a large US company so they may be more inclined to sponsor me for an EB-2, but on a purely legal grounds what opportunities to obtain a green card are open to me because of my L-1 visa status that are not open to my twin brother?

OK, I see your point too. .... Legally there appears, I think, to be no difference, but on an L-1 you have a employer who can (but might not) apply for an EB-2 for you. On an E-2 you have no such sponsor, so there isn't even that possibility.

We have very good friends in Florida who have been here on an E2 for around 12 years.
They like many others have a decent business but not the $500,000 for EB5.
They along with a lot of others in a similar situation have looked for a path to a green card for a few years and as yet none has been found.

I remember someone asking for help on this a few years ago. Basically, they wanted people to sign a petition asking that US immigration alter the E-2 rules to allow them to get green cards. I'm not sure what happened with that... but I suspect that the petition wasn't successful.

IIRC, I was quite vocal in this forum about them not being allowed to adjust status - on the quite reasonable grounds that they knew what they were getting into when they applied for the E-2, but now they wanted to change the rules because the E-2 was suddenly inconvenient in that regard.

Ian

The problem with redefining the E-2 visa rules is that it would destroy the EB-5 racket program, which isn't necessarily a bad goal to have (EB-5's are IMO little more than legalized robbery in most cases), but allowing E-2's to obtain green cards isn't IMO the way to achieve that goal.

To answer the first case study.

If they have children in the US they will be able to sponsor them.

If they brought children who find their own way through say marriage they will be able to sponsor them.

Wife can get a job with another company who could sponsor them.

As an aside why can the business not sponsor say the wife through EB3? Never see it mentioned so presumed there is some block.

If this, if that! ...... The case study was "complete" i.e. to be answered only with respect to the information included, .... and I did specify that the wife does not work outside the E-2 business.