Atlanta Immigration Lawyer | Fogle Law Firm

Investment

The EB-5 Process: 

Interested in migrating to the U.S. to obtain your U.S. Permanent Residence? The Fogle Law Firm can maximize your chance of obtaining your green card by investing in the U.S. through the EB-5 Investor Visa Program.

The EB-5 investor visa program was established for the purpose of bringing an investment capital into the U.S. in order to create jobs for U.S. individuals. Provided certain criteria are met, immigrant investors, under this program, can acquire the permanent resident status and, if one so wishes, eventually U.S. citizenship. However, significant research and due diligence are crucial before making such an investment. At the Fogle Law Firm, we will assist you in every step of this complex application.

An investor is required to demonstrate that he or she established a new commercial venture or invested into a regional center’s existing commercial venture. The applicant must also evidence the investment of the proper amount, derived from a lawful source of income. The investment must also create or preserve a certain number of jobs. Many other conditions are required by USCIS. Because the success of such an application relies on very specific rules of compliance and due diligence, the choice of your attorney is essential. Recently, particular attention is paid to the lawful source inquiry and USCIS agents require additional and extensive evidence proving that the funds are not derived from illicit activity.

E-2 Visa:

The E-2 visa allows a national of a treaty country to be admitted to the United States when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business. To qualify for E-2 classification, the treaty investor must be a national of a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation; have invested, or be actively in the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide enterprise in the United States; be seeking to enter the United States solely to develop and direct the investment enterprise. Generally, this is established by showing at least 50% ownership of the enterprise or possession of operational control through a managerial position or other corporate device.

The investment enterprise may not be marginal. Depending on the facts, a new enterprise might not be considered marginal even if it lacks the current capacity to generate such income.

To qualify for E-2 classification, the employee of a treaty investor must be the same nationality of the principal alien employer and meet the definition of “employee” under relevant law. Qualified treaty investors and employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of two years but requests for extension of stay may be granted in increments of up to two years each. There is no maximum limit to the number of extensions an E-2 nonimmigrant may be granted.

Treaty investors and employees may be accompanied or followed by spouses and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age.

Most of the requirements of the E-2 visa are straightforward. However, prospective applicants face diverse challenges when it comes to the investment itself. Indeed, the concept of “substantial investment” is open to wide interpretation. The Fogle Law Firm will help you to build your immigration project from a strategic perspective and maximize your chance of success. Our team of attorneys will assist you at each step of the application process.