Using E2 investor visas as an alternative to EB5 visa for citizens of some countries

D

desionh1b

Banned
E2 Investors are generally able to live and work as investors in the US and operate their own businesses such as liquor stores, Subway, motels, ethnic stores, etc.

The comprehensive list of countries whose citizens are eligible for E2 visas is published online at http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_3726.html

E2 visas are NON-Immigrant visas, generally issued for between 2-5 years and are renewable, and the best thing is that the investor can earn and save enough money operating their own business in the US to eventually qualify for an EB5 investor visa which does come with an immigrant visa (green card). Usually, investments are required between $150,000 to 400,000 and investors can go into major metro areas with smaller investments AND get business loans to leverage the capital and increase their revenues. I am now doing this for an Asian businessman, so if anyone else wishes to go for this option, please let me know, and I will be happy to help you. Before you call me, please review the above list to make sure you actually qualify as per the list published by the State Department, and are not a citizen of Sudan or Burma or North Korea or Somalia.
 
Retained Earnings are Problematic for E-2 to EB-5 transition

8 CFR 204.6

(e) Definitions (excerpt only)


Invest means to contribute capital. A contribution of capital in exchange for a note, bond, convertible debt, obligation, or any other debt arrangement between the alien entrepreneur and the new commercial enterprise does not constitute a contribution of capital for the purposes of this part.


Capital means cash, equipment, inventory, other tangible property, cash equivalents, and indebtedness secured by assets owned by the alien entrepreneur, provided that the alien entrepreneur is personally and primarily liable and that the assets of the new commercial enterprise upon which the petition is based are not used to secure any of the indebtedness. All capital shall be valued at fair market value in United States dollars. Assets acquired, directly or indirectly, by unlawful means (such as criminal activities) shall not be considered capital for the purposes of section 203(b)(5) of the Act.

************************

Retained earnings do not meet the EB-5 requirements. Profits generated must be cashed out out of the E-2 business paid to the by the "business" to the investor and taxed as income. AFTER that has happened, then the money can be re-invested and will count towards EB-5.

It is doable but a mistake in this will cause the EB-5 capital investment amount to fall short and it would not be discovered until it was too late.
 
That is exactly why I use a CPA & Attorney to offer a comprehensive solution to my clients

Hi Joe,

I know it is doable, else I wouldn't have bothered to do it. I always use a CPA & Attorney (even though I've done my undergrad & MBA in Accounting and am a CPA Candidate myself), to ensure that I have my clients covered from all ends.

There is a reason I've kept a perfect record for almost 8 years & my clients have never faced compliance issues or audits so far: We work proactively to ensure our clients always stay well within the law. For instance, when they go with franchises, we know for a fact that franchisers already have aggressive revenue audit & compliance systems in place designed to ensure they get every penny of royalties or revenue sharing to which they're entitled to, and that same accounting system works to help our clients to furnish a clean sets of books for sales tax & income tax calculations. My clients have gone through over 100 audits (sales & income taxes) between them, and have never been found to owe even a penny because from day one, we've had a CPA covering their financial accounts to ensure they stay in compliance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top