The Moose

I'm looking to travel that well-trodden path of moving myself, my wife and my cat from the UK to the USA on an E2 visa.

I have a business plan and attorney lined up but have a few questions that I'd like to get answered before I meet with my CPA when I'm over there next.

Assuming my application for E2 visa goes smoothly, what will my residency status be? And from a tax perspective?

I will continue to have some residual income and assets here in the UK. I will of course be taxed on them here in the UK - I presume I'll also be taxed on this income/assets in the US also (of course whilst taking into account double taxation rules etc)?

We will initially rent a property (have one lined up) in Florida where we're looking at moving to - this will allow us to get the business going and see whether it really is the right part of the world for us. I presume it's normal for my rental costs to be rent + utilities + renters/contents insurance - I trust property tax and maintenance is down to the owner?

When we actually make the move, are we better to either both fly on the same plane with the cat in the hold with (say) Virgin, or one of us fly out there first, the other then sends the cat unaccompanied and then joins us shortly after?

My wife will apply for the authorization (see I'm getting into the US spelling already!!) to work (EAD is it?) which I'm lead to believe on a E2 visa is a formality - hopefully her employer will provide us with a healthcare plan, however in the mean time I'll require medical/dental insurance - I suspect I'd be best off having a plan for this through my company which would then also cover employees (potentially at a lower coverage level depending on the options). What companies are recommended? Thank goodness, we are both currently in good health currently.

Is there anything else that I need to be thinking about that I likely won't have thought of/something that's likely to trip me up?!

I also have a whole host of business and incorporating related questions, however I don't think this is the right forum for them - is there a good place for them to go?

I appreciate there is quite a lot above, and any advice would be gratefully received.

Cheers

sir_eccles

Sounds like you are aware of a lot of the details already. What's the business field?

The Moose

I presume you mean when to use a 'z' instead of an 's'?!

A lot of the major stuff can be found out using the various websites, but there are still some bits which evade me currently - such as what will my official status in the US be from a residential/taxation perspective?!

The business will be an online retailer of specialist electronic products.

Pulaski

You'll be tax resident in the US.

Will you be exporting electronic equipment, or just selling it in the US?

The Moose

Likely importing into US and selling within. Probably to Canada also.

The Moose

It's also thinks like am I better to run (what will become) my pickup as a company car with private use for me or purchase it myself and claim mileage. It genuinely will be used for both business and personal use and probably also be sign written/wrapped, however won't do a huge mileage.

It's this stuff that in the UK I know the answer to off the top of my head but in the US, I haven't a clue! All fun and games!

scrubbedexpat099

Do you have a CPA?

The Moose

Hoping to sign up with one in the next couple of weeks

ian-mstm

Just curious... but if it's an online business, why do you need to be in the US at all?

Ian

The Moose

Because the product will be stored in my US warehouse and sales etc will be managed from there. It's not practical to operate the business from outside of the country.

Pulaski

Oh yes it is! There are numerous companies that provide outsourced fulfilment services. Amazon is the largest and best known, but there are many other businesses that will hold your inventory and dispatch it to your customers at your direction.

We fully understand that that isn't what you "want", but it is incorrect to say that it isn't practical.

The Moose

Oh no it's not!

(Didn't realise this was a bloody pantomime!)

You're wrong I'm afraid. It is entirely correct to say it isn't practical due to the nature of the product.

I'm well aware of fulfilment services available on the market. They're fantastic if you want some monkey to shove either a 2m or 5m cable in a box and ship it to some address somewhere. I'm afraid that type of service is not of any use to me. The product isn't something that just sits on the shelf and is then shipped to the customer - it's far too technical for that and has to be custom assembled for the customer depending on what they want. Using a third party fulfilment service would not work in this instance.

That's also before you take into account trying to provide technical support, customer service and sales from the UK where we're +5 hours would be fun when I want to take my wife out for dinner etc.

NatashaB

When we moved, my husband went ahead and I stayed behind for a few weeks. He set up the new house in the US, I wrapped everything up in the old house. It was much easier for me to get everything clean when the house had already been packed into a crate and shipped. I put the cat on a flight at one end, he collected at the other having already got a litter tray, cat food, cat basket sorted - I think that's easier than having the cat fly at the same time as you. We used PetAir UK, I was very happy with them.

Wintersong

For immigration, you would be considered a non-immigrant. For tax, it would depend on the amount of time you spend within the US, I believe. Judging by your stated intentions, it seems as though you'd be considered a resident alien for tax purposes.

Yep, it has to be declared on US tax returns. You'll need to find an accountant who is familiar with the declaration of foreign income - we struggled to find anyone who knew what FBAR was on the one occasion that we needed to file it, so do your homework.

Yes on all counts. Some landlords are better than others at maintenance, obviously. Generally we've found that agencies respond more quickly to issues than private landlords, but lack of credit score on arrival may make it difficult to rent through an agency. Simply looking at the property should enable you to make a reasonable determination as to how good the landlord is with their maintenance of course!

Sorry, no advice here!

We've had insurance through various different companies and have found both Aetna and Blue Cross to be good. We didn't like United Healthcare. I'm in California, though, so not sure if these companies also operate in Florida. When choosing plans, pay careful attention to deductibles and the out of pocket maximum!

It sounds as though you've done your homework quite thoroughly. I don't have personal experience with a situation like yours, so can do nothing more than wish you the best of luck!

celticgrid

I assume that by "world" you mean the US? With that view you'll fit right in!