IMMIGRATION

L-1 Visa

Foreign investors and owners of U.S. businesses can also petition for a non-immigrant visa. The L-1 visa permits a foreign manager, executive or person with specialized knowledge to work in their company’s U.S. office or affiliate. An L-1 visa permits a stay of five to seven years, depending on the nature of the position.

E-1 Visa

Foreign investors from countries that have certain trade agreements with the United States can qualify for a non-immigrant E class visa. The visa is issued for two years and is renewable.

The E1 Treaty Trader visa requires that the foreign national trading company must be engaged in substantial trade principally with the United States. The E2 visa is reserved for aliens who have an active and substantial investment in the United States that is not marginal.

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa

We have been dedicated to helping Immigrants obtain EB-5 Investor visas under the Immigrant Investor Program, created to stimulate economic growth in 1990. The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa facilitates foreign investors to obtain permanent resident status based upon their investment in new commercial enterprises in the United States.

In order to obtain an EB-5 Investor Visa, foreign investors must invest at least one million dollars in a new commercial enterprise and create 10 employment opportunities for two years or in a troubled existing commercial enterprise that increases the net worth of the enterprise by at least 40 percent.

Additionally, under a pilot program enacted in 1992 (or commonly referred to as “Regional Center”), investors may qualify for an EB-5 Investor Visa if they invest a minimum of $500,000 in an economically depressed area designated as a Department of Homeland Security Regional Center.  This pilot Regional Center program has just been renewed on September 28, 2012, extending this program to September 30, 2015.

A commercial enterprise is defined as a for-profit business ventures engaged in lawful business enterprise:

  • Corporations
  • General or Limited Partnerships
  • Holding Companies & their Wholly Owned Subsidiaries
  • Joint Ventures
  • Sole Proprietorships

Upon approval, investors will receive conditional legal permanent resident status for their families. If the foreign investor is putting funds into a troubled business for preservation purposes, their investment must directly preserve jobs for employees of that business.  The condition over the permanent resident status can be removed upon application in two years.

For more information about the EB-5 Investment Visa or any other Visas, contact our office to schedule an appointment.