Each year we deal with several hundred applicants who are looking at the EB5 route to obtain permanent residence in the USA. Their reasons vary – however, the majority fall into a small number of key groups and we continue to look at these groups in more detail.

We have already examined the families looking to retire to the States via the EB-5 and those having problems with remaining in the USA on the H-1B. Today we are looking at those that already have the E2 or L1 visa, but are experiencing problems and are planning to apply for the EB-5.

There are many individuals and families in the United States on non immigrant visas such as the E2 or L1 that only allow the recipient to stay for a limited period.

Among the problems these visa holders can face are:

•    The business they bought is not delivering sufficient turnover or employing sufficient staff for visa renewal.
•    The owner of the business is not well enough to continue operating the business.
•    The owner of the business wants to retire but cannot remain in the USA if they no longer maintain the business.
•    The owners’ children turn 21 and face having to leave the country as they are no longer covered by the visa.
•    The owner did not really want to have to run a business but was not advised of other options.

The E2 in particular has proved a problematical visa for the reasons above.

Comments from a Consular Office
“I would also like to point out that a non immigrant (E2) visa is not a good option for someone who intends to reside permanently in the United States. If the investor retires or sells their investment, his or her visa status lapses and he or she must leave the US. Only single dependent children under 21 are eligible for visas to accompany their investor parent, and when these children turn 21 they lose their status as a dependent and their visa. The more secure option for those that have the necessary capital is the permanent resident (green card EB-5) investor visa. In this case the required investment is one million dollars, or under certain circumstances $500,000.”  John Caulfield, Consul General, US Embassy London.

In this blog series on who should be interested in the EB-5 we will look into some cases studies of those who used the EB5 instead of or due to renewal issues with the E2 or L1. To stay up to date don’t forget to subscribe to our blog (you can do that at the top of this page) or for more personal attention contact the partners at Which EB5 using this link.