DC Investor Visa Attorney

The main investor visas an individual could obtain are the EB-5 Visa for Job Creators and the E-2 Visa for Treaty Investors. Basically, the EB-5 is for people who want to invest half a million to a million dollars in certain targeted regional areas. The E-2 is for people who want to start some sort of business or enterprise in the United States. The E-2s are not as strict with monetary requirements. A DC investor visa lawyer can help you with any questions you may have about investor or immigration visas and the process by which you apply for them.

Contact the experienced DC investor visa attorneys at our firm today if you’re looking to gain entry to the U.S. for business purposes. Our DC immigration attorneys understand the nature of this process and are eager to help clients succeed. Call us today. En Español.

EB-5 and E-2 Visa Requirements

There are certain monetary requirements to the EB-5 visa meaning that the individual has to invest five hundred thousand to a million dollars depending on what region they’re in. The E-2 is more flexible regarding the monetary requirement.  It is meant for people who want to start a business here that are going to make a significant impact on the United States economy.

Grounds for Rejection of Investor Visas

For the E-2 visas, one of the common reasons an application may be rejected would be that an investment might be considered “marginal.” This means that it’s only going to provide income for the applicant and the family. So you can’t really come here on that type of a visa if you’re just going to start a small restaurant that’s only going to provide enough income to support your family or yourself, for example. It has to be something that’s going to have a substantial impact – a positive impact that is – on the US economy.

One big difference between these two visas, is that the EB-5 visa requires that you create either five or ten jobs in the United States as a result of your investment.

Process of Obtaining an Investor Visa

You have to show that you’ve taken substantial steps into investigating and making the investment. You can’t just have money sitting in your bank account and say that you’re going to invest once you enter the country. A lot of people go through already-established regional centers, which are sort of entities that have already applied for status to allocate EB-5 funds with USCIS. It’s a little bit easier doing it that way because you already have the investment opportunity structured and laid out for you.

Building a Strong Application for Investor Visas

With the EB-5 visa, you really want to make sure that you are going to meet the job creation requirement. Sometimes that’s harder to prove because it might be people that are going to be hired eventually, but whose jobs don’t exist at the onset of the founding of the company or the investment that you’re starting.

For the E-2, you or your DC investor visa lawyer need to show that you have a very well-thought out business plan and that you’ve actually taken steps to implement. It’s got to be more than just having money in the bank. You need to have taken steps to do research about where it’s going to be, and maybe have a preliminary lease agreement (or something similar).

Definition of a New Commercial Enterprise

A New Commercial Enterprise has to be something that’s new, that is to say, something that hasn’t existed before. Alternatively, you can apply with an existing business or enterprise if you’re going to expand the size of the business by 40%.

Furthermore, the applicants need to take concrete steps to establish the business. For example, if you’re coming here and wanting to start a shoe factory, then you’re going to have to know what the real estate market is like an area, you’re going to have to know who your distributors are going to be, you have to have deals with contractors and subcontractors that are ready to be executed. You’re probably going to want to have a preliminary rental agreement that you have signed put some money into already. You need to have placed some of your capital at risk. It has to be more than just an idea. You have to have taken actual steps to establish the enterprise.

Importance of a DC Investment Visa Lawyer

These are very complex areas of immigration law and so much is at stake financially. Especially if obtaining legal status in the United States is one of your major priorities in making the investment, you absolutely want to make sure that that you’re going to be eligible and that the investment is actually going to quality after you’ve made it.

One really important thing to remember in EB-5 at least is that you are not eligible for a green card until two years after you’ve actually made the investment. So, you can bring a massive investment in the US economy and plan on coming here, and then two years later when you’re eligible to adjust your status or to become a full permanent resident, the government can determine that you haven’t met the criteria to become one.

To learn more call our law offices and ask to speak with a DC investor visa lawyer who can help.

DC Investor Visa Attorney

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