Atlanta Investment Visa Lawyers
With strong policies in place to support businesses, the United States
is an excellent place to invest. Foreign nationals may obtain specific
visas in order to invest and reside in this country. Our Atlanta investment
immigration attorneys can determine whether you qualify for one and if
so, represent you through the visa application process. If you do not
qualify for a visa, there may be other alternatives that we can suggest.
Those who invest in the United States economy by creating jobs in this
country may also qualify for Permanent Residency.
Investment Immigration Visa Options
The Treaty Trader (E-1) and Treaty Investor (E-2) visas are for foreign
nationals from countries with which the U.S. has treaties of commerce
and navigation. They are a good choice if you are facilitating major "trade"
between the United States and your treaty country or you develop the operations
of an enterprise in which you ve invested substantial capital. "Trade"
includes international banking, tourism, communications, insurance, and
transportation. In order to be eligible, your investment must put capital
at commercial risk with objective of turning a profit. The investment
must also be subject to loss if it fails.
Another option for immigrant investors is obtaining an Employment Fifth
Preference (EB-5) visa. These are available to you if you want to enter
into the United States to engage in a commercial enterprise that benefits
the United States economy by creating jobs and making a capital investment.
Every year, this category accounts for up to 7.1% of the employment based
immigrant visas issued by the United States.
For purposes of this visa category, a commercial enterprise is an activity
formed to conduct for-profit business activities. It includes sole proprietorships,
corporations, business trusts, holding companies and partnerships. If
the enterprise is a holding company and its wholly owned subsidiary, every
subsidiary must be lawfully operating for profit.
The investment may be $1,000,000 in the United States or $500,000 in certain
high-unemployment or rural areas in the United States. The money you invest
may not be borrowed. Within two years, your investment must create full
time jobs for at least 10 United States citizens, lawful permanent residents
or immigrants, not including you or your family.
The jobs created can be direct jobs that are actual jobs for qualified
employees or they can be indirect jobs. The latter are jobs created because
of capital invested in a commercial enterprise that is affiliated with
a regional center; only those affiliated with a regional center can use
the indirect jobs criteria. Regardless of whether you ve created direct
or indirect jobs, you must be involved in the day-to-day management of
your enterprise to qualify.
If you would like to acquire an EB-5 visa, you need to file an Immigrant
Petition by Alien Entrepreneur. No labor certification is required. If
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services approves your petition,
it sends the petition to the National Visa Center. This category is one
of the hardest visas to qualify for, so you should retain an experienced
immigration attorney to help you from the start. Trying to get this visa
and failing to do so may adversely impact any future attempts.
Knowledgeable Business Immigration Attorneys
With over 90 years of collective experience on both sides of immigration
controversies, our Atlanta immigration lawyers are uniquely situated to
help you seek the appropriate status within the United States for your
investment purposes. We provided dedicated, personalized services to all
of our clients, and will help you navigate the visa application process
from start to finish. Contact Pozo Goldstein, LLP by calling us toll-free
at (888) 472-5291 or
via our online form
for a free, in-office consultation regarding any business immigration issue.