Zoe

The E2 visa at the moment does not give you the option to apply for a Green Card. There are a few ways round it - if you come with one spouse as a dependent, they can get a job and in theory eventually be sponsored. I think as Ray says there are other E2 types - Manager and Essential Worker.

What we are saying if you have run a successful business here and brought investment and created jobs for US citizens, is there not a possibility for those E2 visa holders to apply for Green Cards. We are not asking for a blanket change that would allow every E2 Visa Holder to do this.

There are many E2 Visa Holders who have been here for over 20 years. They renew their visa every 5 years, but it is becoming more of a difficult process as time goes on.

By the way, I take exception to someone who doesn't know me at all telling everyone I would let my daughter get married to stay in the country. That is not what I said - all I was inferring was that if they were going to get married anyway (and it is on the cards and they are planning a future) IF that was the only way she could stay, they could bring the wedding forward maybe by a year. No way would I ever suggest to either of my children that they marry to stay here, and if her relationship finishes, we will have to face what to do if there is no job for her.

Zoe

scrubbedexpat099

I would agree that anybody bringing children should have a plan rather than dumping them at age 21.

I can also see that others might say well at that age they are adults and need to stand on their own feet.

There is an option for a successful E2, EB5. And as the limit has not increased with inflation it could be said to be getting easier and easier. And the whole family comes too.

My impression was that the Consulate was taking an easier line on E2 renewals, just from what I had read.

Zoe

Every situation is different - some would leave if there was no way for their kids to stay after age 21 - and I know many who have done that - and some have kids who want to return on their own or even look at another country. No one can say what is right or best for your family.

When we came 8 years ago, we were told that renewals were easy. I know the Embassy in London can be lenient due to the Economy, but I also know of people who didn't get their renewal and are totally shocked. Yes I do know there is probably more to those stories, but sometimes it doesn't feel like there is much consistency. We have a renewal due in the next few months and I have to say I am very nervous about the whole thing.

We were also told it was easy for a child to stay after 21 - either by going to college and then getting a job or by them getting their own E2 in their own business. One thing we weren't aware of till we got here was that the kids wouldn't have SSNs and therefore can't get any job experience - not easy to apply for an E2 with no experience.

We have done everything we can to help our kids stay here but there will always be an uncertainty after they leave college about whether they will get jobs. You must admit that is going to be harder than it was a few years ago.

Our family came here not knowing whether we would stay for 6 months, 6 years or want to stay forever. We could easily have been homesick or unsuccessful in our business and chosen to go home but we weren't. We would like to be able to carry on running our business in a place we now feel is home and we are asking the Government if that is a possibility. We are not saying it's because we want to stay but because we are good for the Economy.

I don't really understand why there are people - and it only seems to be on here - who seem to take exception to this. Actually though nearly all of you have been welcoming and supportive and I thank you for that.

Zoe

Michael

It must be very disturbing with the visa issues especially when related to your children. I agree that you should fight for change and wish you all the luck in getting those changes enacted.

To increase your kids chances of being able to stay or eventually return to the US, make sure they get a post graduate degree in one of the H1-B specialities at a US university. Although there has been plenty of H1-B visas available over the past couple of years, employers have not been hiring due to the bad economy. When the job market picks up again, there will likely be a shortage of H1-B visas but if your kids have a post graduate degree from a US university, they will always be eligible for one of the 20,000 annual H1-B visas available only to US university graduates which generally are not as oversubscribed as the normal H1-B visas.

Ray

H-1B Regular Cap Available 65,000 taken 41,000
10/7/2011

H-1B Master’s Exemption Available 20,000 taken 19,100
10/7/2011

oops wrong this year

Michael

True but that is not normal. Normally there are about 200,000 (mostly by Indian out sourcing companies) applying for the regular cap and about 25,000 for the master's exemption. Also if they have a masters degree from a US university, they can apply for both.

It is not that the out sourcing companies want that many visas but oversubscribe to increase their chances of getting about 40,000-50,000. They have a lot of candidates that will take the job if a visa can be acquired.

Ray

This has been the norm for a few years now ... your way behind and the Indian outsourcing has pretty much gone now with new rules

Michael

What new rules? They still are hiring but in this economy, the need isn't that great. The only new rules that I know of were that the out sourcing companies started using excessive L1-B visas (hire Indian locals with the intent of sending them to the US in a year to get around the H1-B visa quota) prior to the recession and the US government cracked down on that practice.

Wibblypig

Good luck Zoe, I wish you all the best and really hope you can turn it around

Vicki

Bob

Meh....if it's that successful, COS to EB5 and you're sorted, if not, then you've not been successful enough.

Harsh, but true.

You'd probably get more sympathy from this if you weren't so close minded on E2 and your personal cause.

If you'd considered general reform to also include H4 spouses who aren't allowed to work whilst their counterparts on company transfer are, you'd probably get more support.

Ray

you never got this memo
USCIS (U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services) recently issued a memorandum dated 8 Jan 2010. The memorandum effectively states that there must be a clear "employee employer relationship" between the petitioner (employer) and the beneficiary (potential Visa holder). It simply outlines what the employer must do to be considered in compliance as well as putting forth the documentation requirements to back up the employer's assertion that a valid relationship exists.

Some argue that this has effectively "killed the job-shop industry". While it is clear that the number of Visa petitions granted has declined (or is slower than normal to reach the full quota), it is not clear whether or not this is a result of simple political pressure to put the program on "hold", or a long-term result from real economic realities. The memorandum gives three clear examples of what is and is NOT considered a valid "employee employer relationship".

Michael

I doubt that will put a dent in the outsourcing business. USICE doesn't like it that these outsourcing companies farm out their employees and get paid monthly and never sees the employee again until the assignment is over while the company that uses the person, manages the employee, pays his/her salary, provides benefits and vacation, and is basically treated as an employee of that company.

The outsourcing companies will just have to start providing all those functions and bill the company a larger monthly fee. Any sharp lawyer should be able to provide that loophole.

The current decline in subscriptions for H1-B visas started to occur before USICE put that rule into effect. 2009 was still a pretty good year for H1-B visas because the recession had only started and companies had signed commitments with the outsourcing companies before the recession started.

Zoe

Wibblypig - Thank you for your support.

Bob - most people on E2 visas are running small businesses, they are very lucky if they make enough money to either have a spare $500,000 to invest in a Government Project or have a business worth over a million dollars and an extra 10 employees. That is not saying they are unsuccessful and I think that is a harsh comment.

The reason I am working on E2 Reform is because it is an issue close to my heart and I am not asking just for myself but for all E2 Visa Holders who reach a certain criteria - I don't have the knowledge or resources to talk about other visas. There is nothing stopping spouses on H4 visas lobbying for themselves and if anything I have shown that it is possible to do this.

For some reason E2 people seem to be very inconspicuous on this forum - I was hoping to be contacted by E2 Visa Holders who were interested in what we are doing and hadn't heard about us, but nothing so far. Can't help but wonder why!!

Zoe

BILDER

It's not a huge mystery. Most of them knew that there were limited pathways to immigrating that way. They either aren't interested or they accepted that. That's why you haven't had much input from them so far.

Zoe

On the other hand if they were offered the chance of Legal Permanent Residency, I can't see many turning it down.

Zoe