E2 visa qualifying businesses

I

iloveflorida

New Member
Hi there

My partner and I want to move to the USA - probably Florida but we are flexible - and it seems that the only possibility is investing in a business that qualifies for an E2 visa.

We are looking at cleaning franchises, but also pool companies, since this is the area in which my partner is experienced. Obviously our concern is that whatever business we invest in must work, otherwise we will lose everything and have to return home.

It is difficult to give proper consideration to the companies advertising from a distance (or from phone conversations in the case of franchises) and it is difficult to see just how profitable a business is, especially in these current economic times. Apart from the obvious way of studying full sets of accounts (although this is not possible in the case of new franchises), if anyone has any tips on making an informed decision I would be grateful. E.g. If anyone is actually based in Florida, do they know if maid cleaning services or pool companies seem to be doing well?

Also, is the 'substantial' investment amount still around $150k?

Many thanks for any tips
 
iloveflorida said:
Hi there

My partner and I want to move to the USA - probably Florida but we are flexible - and it seems that the only possibility is investing in a business that qualifies for an E2 visa.

We are looking at cleaning franchises, but also pool companies, since this is the area in which my partner is experienced. Obviously our concern is that whatever business we invest in must work, otherwise we will lose everything and have to return home.

It is difficult to give proper consideration to the companies advertising from a distance (or from phone conversations in the case of franchises) and it is difficult to see just how profitable a business is, especially in these current economic times. Apart from the obvious way of studying full sets of accounts (although this is not possible in the case of new franchises), if anyone has any tips on making an informed decision I would be grateful. E.g. If anyone is actually based in Florida, do they know if maid cleaning services or pool companies seem to be doing well?

Also, is the 'substantial' investment amount still around $150k?

Many thanks for any tips
Click to expand...

hi,
as an e2'r i can only tell you that you need to come here and assess for yourself what is viable. i can say from my personal opinion that there are a lot of pool cleaning companies out there ... both big and small. competition is going to be tough against the established ones. same thing with maid cleaning. there are large and small operations. i am not in florida but in california. but from what i gather in my state, or at least southern ca, there are abundant pool cleaning and maid cleaning businesses plying their trade here.
substantial investment, according to a dept of state official who did my e2 application, depends on the type of business. a small business may require a smaller investment to qualify as substantial. so effectively there is no fixed amt pegged to the investment. of course they want to see that you are putting in money into the venture. what is most important to them is your business plan. they want to see a good business plan.

a lot of homework! but if you are careful, you will get it right and succeed!

sorry ... did not mean to burst any bubbles...

good luck.
 
Thank you for your input - no, no bubbles burst - we know it is going to be difficult which is why we are trying to be careful and not jump in too quickly. As much as we would like to live in the US, the worst decision we could make, I feel, is to invest all our finances into a business only to have it fail and be forced to return to the UK with nothing.
 
iloveflorida said:
Thank you for your input - no, no bubbles burst - we know it is going to be difficult which is why we are trying to be careful and not jump in too quickly. As much as we would like to live in the US, the worst decision we could make, I feel, is to invest all our finances into a business only to have it fail and be forced to return to the UK with nothing.
Click to expand...

hi iloveflorida,
there is another forum which you should join - www.expatsvoice.org. they are mainly brits who are e2'rs and you can learn quite a bit from their experiences.
good luck.
 
iloveflorida said:
Thank you for your input - no, no bubbles burst - we know it is going to be difficult which is why we are trying to be careful and not jump in too quickly. As much as we would like to live in the US, the worst decision we could make, I feel, is to invest all our finances into a business only to have it fail and be forced to return to the UK with nothing.
Click to expand...

hi iloveflorida,
there is another forum which you should join - www.expatsvoice.org. they are mainly brits who are e2'rs and you can learn quite a bit from their experiences.
good luck.
 
e-2 visa

hello as an American i can suggest you that need to come here and consider for yourself what is feasible. I can say from my personal opinion that there are a lot of companies there.
 
Be cautious when they advertise that the owner is selling due to illness, since all of a sudden they all are sick or leaving the State.
Many just don't make a dime and when you ask for the P & L you can really see what is going on. For an E 2 visa you need to buy a company with some kind of accountants statement otherwise you are better of starting a new business.

We looked for 2 years for a business and recently bought one our self and the owner sold it also because of an illness but we met him and we could clearly see he wasn't in the best shape. Everything checked out as he stated but I have to say that was the first business in 2 years that had decent papers and everything was as he stated it to us.

There are a lot of maid, pool, and yard businesses for sale and specially in the Orlando area since many English people are moving back home. Due to the recession HO have lost their homes and these businesses were also hard hit...so look carefully at the P & L and remember that contracts on pool work, yard work and maid services don't mean much since mostly they are month to month and when you take over the can be cancelled pretty quick and you could end up paying a lot for nothing...

But don't let that discourage you...many have done it before you and will come after you.....and made a very good life here...but beware that not all business brokers are very honest.
 
There is a new visa program that I believe will begin shortly, known as the Startup or EB6 (the 6th preference employment based visa). I think this visa will offer you the flexibility and lower cash investment you are looking for. Check it out and let us know if that is more in line with your needs.
 
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