BritGuyTN

Hi

A mate of mine has been seeing an american woman and potentially would like to move over here to be with her without getting a K1 etc at this point

I have a property business (lots of rental properties) with about $400k in gross annual revenues, could he invest a lump sum and get a visa this way?

This lump sum would be invested into further rental properties etc

cheers for any advice

Bob

E2 visa is proper shite though and London is really tough....if your mates got a bit more cash, maybe look at the EB5? Though not sure the EB5 is exactly what would work with an existing business.

BritGuyTN

He has about $3 mil of which i guess a max of 500k to invest in this potentially

hes not worried so much about living in america for ever, more so about being with the girl - so if that works well they can marry and he can adjust status etc

Bob

EB5 is probably a better way, because London has a knack for giving a E2 for one year and not renewing it...might want to check out Ray's site as there's loads of info on the E2.

BritGuyTN

whats rays website again? i can;t find a url

Bob

http://www.thefloridaforums.com/forum/ it's for EB5, can't find the E2 one...

Jerseygirl

This is a message from Ray:

passive investment ..no E-2 possilble

BritGuyTN

its really not a passive investment, 2 or 3 properties yes. 150? no

not 150 rught now but with investment it will be and then 250 after that

i guess its a case of justifying it

ladyofthelake

It's not Ray's site anymore. New owners are in, and it covers e2 and EB5 on the same site. In fact 1 member has just had their interview and been approved for the EB5 Seattle project.

Anyway, the EB5 would be a better bet for your friend, he would have the GC in hand when he moved over, no need to do AOS.
Not such a good move for you though...EB5 for him, means no investment for you.

Ray

Its the initial set up and number of employees which has their interest
not the number of properties

building houses ..apartment blocks have been refused in the past ..

The wording of the business plan is what can make it work
Now if he was to set up a business maintenance company with a few employees and had a contract to service you needs to starts ..thats an option.. Then when that business is up and running nothing to stop his company diversifying into property investment ..

take a read here ...
http://www.investorvisausa.com/index.html

Folinskyinla

Hi:

EB-5 can work with an existing business if it fits the definition of a "distressed" enterprise. The idea is SAVING ten jobs rather than CREATING ten new jobs. [I think I've mentioned this before -- my old firm had an E-2 client who mismanaged the business he invested in that it BECAME a "distressed" business. The CIS adjudicator stated "this is ridiculous" -- I agreed wholeheartedly but said "Neither of us wrote the regulations, and it does fall within their express letter." Adjustment granted.]

Also, there has now been experience with the existing "regional centers" which now have a good track record. The investment visa attorney I share office space with likes the ones sponsored by some of the individual states [it protects him from malpractice liability] and works mainly on showing the legitimate source of the funds. The EB-5 investment in the regional center can effectively be "passive."

Bob

Aye, distressed business, that's the thing, and I didn't think the OP was running into the ground, hence why I didn't think it would be an easy sell to go for the EB5.