Originally Posted by Arizona_bound

Thanks Noorah101,
So $100k for an E2 visa which would allow you to open a business and show that you can bring some local jobs and employment for people in the area and then it would be something you'd have to keep renewing providing the business doesn't go bust? Have I got that about right?

Originally Posted by Nutmegger

Yes, you need a business plan that shows how you intend to grow the business and hire local people; it can't just be a subsistence business for the visa holder. The initial investment has to be shown to be at risk. The visa is given in increments -- usually having to be renewed every five years, but sometimes the CO goes with an initial two-year visa. If the business folds or is sold, the visa holder has to leave the country. There is no direct route to a green card, but if instead of going halves on the visa, a couple just put the visa in one name, the other person is eligible to apply for an EAD, and in some cases that person has been able to attain a job that has led to the employer sponsoring them for a green card.

Originally Posted by Nutmegger

Yes, you need a business plan that shows how you intend to grow the business and hire local people; it can't just be a subsistence business for the visa holder. The initial investment has to be shown to be at risk. The visa is given in increments -- usually having to be renewed every five years, but sometimes the CO goes with an initial two-year visa. If the business folds or is sold, the visa holder has to leave the country. There is no direct route to a green card, but if instead of going halves on the visa, a couple just put the visa in one name, the other person is eligible to apply for an EAD, and in some cases that person has been able to attain a job that has led to the employer sponsoring them for a green card.

Originally Posted by ddsrph

Originally Posted by Arizona_bound

That makes sense. Got to show that you are willing to risk a significant amount of money in order to prove your willingness to make a life in the country. And can contribute meaningfully to the local economy. Shame it costs so damn much though!
Without googling it, am I right in saying that the EAD is a visa given to the partner of someone with the E2 visa (I think) that means they have a business plan that is acceptable for visa purposes and can start their business etc. Then the person with the EAD visa can go and get a job elsewhere who could well end up being sponsored themselves? Then if the original E2 visa expires because I can't run a business, I would have to leave but the missus could stay or would I then be able to stay on her sponsorship visa?
I'm really trying to follow it all through but it feels like I'm going round in circles!

Originally Posted by Arizona_bound

Hi all, just joined this forum and I'm after any useful tips or advice.
I'm planning to buy some land in America with a view to building a house on it (eventually) and, with any luck, retiring there. I appreciate that there is a lot of red tape and I need various documents etc to be able to do that. I have done a fair amount of online research and have looked into getting an ITIN which I apparently need. With that in mind I recently emailed a firm that are meant to help with that but they responded that I don't need one to buy land? Can anyone advise if that is correct or not?
I am also trying to open a bank account in America so I can transfer money to it so there is a record of an income which will hopefully help if I can't afford to buy the land outright and need a mortgage. However, I can't find much help online telling me how to do this. Everything seems to say I need to go to a branch in person. That's not really an option yet as I'm based in the UK and haven't got a trip planned to America for quite a few months. I spoke to my bank as they have branches in America but they won't do it unless I have $10,000 to open it with. I don't have that kind of money so is the best bet to hold out until I can afford that or is there another an option?
Then there are the obvious questions of actually buying the land and all that entails!
I'm new on here so not familiar with what I can post so I hope these are questions I'm allowed to ask. I appreciate that I'm not going to get any advice specific to me but hopefully someone whose been through the same thing can give me some pointers and ideas of where to look. Any advice given will obviously be taken as just that, advice. I will do my own due diligence based on my own circumstances.

Thank you in advance and hopefully these are questions I can ask!

Originally Posted by Nutmegger

The spouse can enter the US as the dependent of the person who has been granted the E-2; they can then apply for an Employment Authorization Document, which allows them to seek a job. If the couple are partners in the E-2, each can only work for the business for which the visa was granted. However, if the E-2 terminates, the E-2 dependent with the EAD will still also have to leave.

Originally Posted by UkWinds5353

Hi AB, and welcome to BE.

Just want to wish you well in your efforts to achieve the goal of moving to the States. Give it everything you got and definitely have a plan B which will feel nearly as fulfilling.

I hope the States and the UK will sign a mutual agreement to allow a set number of citizens the opportunity to gain VISA like we current allow for Australia and just recently approved for Ireland. Brexit just might create a few unforeseen possibilities between America, Canada and the UK in the next five years. Good luck with all your efforts. Btw, Arizona is a beautiful state and has become a very popular location for recent retirees.

Originally Posted by Arizona_bound

Ok. So I get a visa to run a chicken farm for example. Get my E-2. The other half can come with me as a dependant but NOT as a partner on the E-2, and once here can apply for the EAD to get a job in her own right. She does get one away from the chicken farm. All is going well for her but the chicken farm collapses. So I'm out on my ear and she would have to leave with me regardless of how well she's getting on. Am I right so far?

Say all the above happens but she gets on so well that the company she works for are happy to sponsor her. Would she then be able to stay and then I can stay on as her dependent this time? And then apply for an EAD of my own? If there even is a sponsorship option?

Sorry, I'm just trying to get my head round it all and see what could possibly happen when pigs fly and we get an E-2!

Originally Posted by Moses2013

No idea where the OP was born, but the green card lottery can be an option for some. British born abroad or born in Northern Ireland.

Almost everyone can participate in the Green Card Lottery. There are, however, two criteria that every participant must meet: Country of birth and level of education. You must have proof of these two requirements at the time you win the lottery. Do you qualify to enter the Green Card Lottery?


Please take note that your nationality plays no role in the Green Card Lottery. Only your country of birth according to current borders is important in deciding if you can participate in the drawing. There are, however, exceptions! People who were born in an excluded country can still apply to the Green Card Lottery under certain conditions. They are when:

1. The spouse of the participant was born in a country that can actively participate;
2. People born in an excluded country can participate if their parents were only in the country of their birth temporarily for, for example, their studies or work. In this case, both parents must have been born in a country which can participate in the lottery.

Originally Posted by Nutmegger

You're getting it, except she would need to get that green card before the E-2 ends, and you would be piggybacking on her green card. Also, note that the job would have to be within the parameters of feasible sponsorship -- as a silly example, she couldn't be the best nail bedazzler in town! -- and it would need to be proved a local person couldn't perform the job.

Originally Posted by Arizona_bound

I see. So, as an example, a high level riding instructor could fit into that bracket then? Obviously there are plenty of riding instructors but if she specialised in, say, teaching people with learning difficulties, that's a bit more of a niche market and could well satisfy the requirements to get her Green Card. Is that the sort of thing you think could work in that scenario? Obviously we're just tossing ideas around here while I try and get it all straight in my head! If that is ever possible!

Originally Posted by ddsrph