kel.n.issy

I am starting college on my H4 in september and oh on H1b but a business opportunity is for sale nearby and would be great for us. The business is a country Inn ( I worked in hotel management for yrs before giving it up to do the H4)
if we purchased it could I convert my H4 to any other sort of visa to enable me to run it whilst oh stayed on with his H1b and continued to work as a back up until we got GC.

our GC app is in and we are awaiting results of eta 9089 (it has been pulled for audit due to the immigrations attorneys) so might not be at next stage for a few more months.

Anyone have any knowledge on this?

Thanks
Issy

meauxna

I don't remember your details, Issy.. when you say 'green card application is in' do you mean that you have submitted I-485, or is that yet to come?
Once I-485 is submitted, you can apply for a work permit ("EAD" via form I-765) and then you can be employed.

ian-mstm

No, I don't believe so. Your H-1B spouse can work only for his sponsor, and as long as he has an H-1B you will have an H-4 and are *not* allowed to work at all.

Ian

dbj1000

It's not that she's stuck with an H4 just by being married to an H1-B holder... it's just that there aren't any obvious visas that she could apply for (and get) based on the information she's given. She could go out and find her own sponsor for an H1-B, for example.

In theory, couldn't she go back to the UK and apply for an E2 visa to buy and run this Country Inn? Given enough money, and enough US employees...

ian-mstm

Hmm... I read the post again, and it seems your interpretation is more correct than mine!

Ian

kel.n.issy

I looked at E2 - I seem to recall reading an article somewhere that the whole employment of US citizens thing had changed for investors- maybe I am wrong and someone with more knowledge than me could correct me- unfortunately the hotel trade is not something that i would want to do again unless i was working for myself with my own business - I485 still a long way off we just getting through the labor conditions.

I am doing a paramedics degree at college but our long term retirement goals would be to own an Inn but this opportunity came long and I was just curious if there were ways around it...


Thanks

meauxna

Can the inn afford a manager?
Maybe you can own it but not work in it immediately.

Opportunity knocking and all...

Ray

Could change to E-2 while in the US ....
buy would remain landlocked there ...

kel.n.issy

So on a H4 could I own the business but not work in it - what about income from the business??

It could work.........

meauxna

I don't know that for a fact, but I'm 90% sure that's an accurate way to put it.
The business makes the income, you just get to own the business.

This is the part where you'd want some expert-like advice.. I don't know if you can collect dividends or what the best way to structure the company would be, but it would be worth looking into. The idea behind buying now would not be to get income for you, but to protect the oppt'y that you see that's ready now.