E-2  “Treaty Investor”
The Treaty Investor visa is a non-immigrant visa (E-2) based on US and Foreign Country agreements.  Click for a detailed list of those countries who’s citizens are eligible under this visa status.  The E-2 visa is issued to foreign nationals of these specific countries under the premise that the visa holder is coming to the United States for the sole purpose of developing and managing this particular business entity with which they have invested and the funds are at risk should the business fail.
The investment being made by the visa holder has to be in cash or cash equivalents (mortgages).  The exact amount of the investment is on a case-by-case basis; not specific in amount, but is in legitimate proportion to the business being purchased or developed.
The business being purchased or developed can be: a) a new enterprise, funded from ground zero, (e.g franchise)  b) an existing business (e.g. restaurant, service station, existing franchise).
The immigration status can be obtained in the United States while the visitor is on a tourist visa; or, can be applied for outside of the United States while the investor is resident in their homeland.
Whatever business being purchased or developed must be able to show that it has the capability to generate more than enough income for the investor and his family.  The projected future income generating capacity generally must be obtained within five years from the date the visa holder commences activity.
The E-2 visa initially allows a stay of up to 2 years if applied for in the United States and can be renewed without yearly limits during the life of the business.  If the visa is obtained in the embassy of origin, it can be granted for 5 years and can be extended in 5 year increments with no limitations during the life of the business.  This visa is not subject to numerical limitations.
The spouse and children (unmarried and under 21) will be able to accompany their parent under this category. The spouse of the L-1A applicant will be granted an independent work authorization.

The Intra-Company Transferee visa is a non-immigrant visa allows managers, executives and specialized knowledge employees to transfer from a foreign company to a use parent company, affiliate, branch or subsidiary corporation to perform managerial, executive or specialized worker functions.
The strategy of implementation for an individual investor is to determine if they own or operate their own business or corporation in their homeland (must have more than 5 employees, not including the investor).  All employees must be receiving salary and benefits (not just dividends and profits).
The idea is that the foreign business owner creates his own U.S. corporation or business which purchases real property and who’s function is the buying, selling, trading or auctioning of real property.  The foreign company and the U.S. company do not have to be in the same line of business.
To understand more clearly, the owner of a small or large business from any country (no treaty requirement) forms a U.S. affiliate, subsidiary or branch business in the U.S. and transfers him or herself to the United States to operate the business.
The business being created can be a start up operation (existing for less than one year) or can be an established business (more than 1 year old).

The L-1A applicant must have been employed at the foreign company for at least one of the last three years and must be able to document that employment through payroll records, taxes, etc.  The foreign company must remain in existence during the period and operation during the period that the L-1A applicant is present in the United States.  The spouse and the unmarried children (under 21) will be able to accompany the investor.  The spouse of the L-1A applicant will be granted an independent work authorization.
This visa is subject to a maximum time limitation of seven years, but is eligible for first preference, employment-based residency, placing them on the fast track to obtaining a green card.

The United States government offers of 10,000 visas to qualified individuals who simply want to purchase permanent residency in the United States through their investment immediately.  In a nutshell, those investors can either invest $500,000 or $1,000,000 in twenty seriously depressed areas of the country in order to earn their permanent residency.   The corporation must employ ten individuals and the total investment must be made within two years.

Initially, the investor and his family will be given a temporary permanent residency which will be converted to total permanent residency after it has met the requirement of investment and employees.  This can be used for serious investors who establish development companies that are purchasing large tracts of land, hiring the employees and developing the property.  Although it may appear as appealing option, I normally tell the investor to look at the other options, keep the money in their pocket and we can obtain their permanent residency without the substantial investment required.

These are the major visa categories which our firm uses for immigrant investors to live and work in the US, profit from their experience, and raise their families.

Our firm’s practice is dedicated strictly to the areas of tax, corporate and immigration law in order to provide the foreign investor a complete one-stop service throughout their stay in the United States and those countries friendly to the world investor.

I personally cater to Latin Americans because I come from Colombian roots and I travel, giving lectures to investors in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia.  Our entire staff is bi-lingual.  We have offices in Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and Miami and are available to meet with you on a personal basis either in person or via telephone.  Standard legal fees will apply to in person meetings.

Usually permanent residents may apply for citizenship by naturalisation after a period of residency in the country concerned. Dual citizenship may or may not be permitted.

In many nations an application for naturalisation can be denied on character grounds sometimes resulting in individuals that are not in danger of being deported but may not proceed to citizenship. In the United States, the residency requirements for citizenship may vary according to the basis for residency; for example, those who achieved legal permanent residence by marriage may apply for citizenship three years after residency was granted, while others must wait five years. Those who have served in the armed forces may qualify for an expedited process allowing citizenship after only one year.

Full permanent residence rights are granted automatically between:

• the Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom
• the states of the Nordic Council

Rights conferred under the European Union Treaties do not extend to full permanent residence, but in practise there is little difference.

Australian and New Zealand citizens have significant rights of residence in each other's nations under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement.

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa.. It allows U.S. employers to employ foreign guest workers employed in specialty occupations. The regulations define a “specialty occupation” as requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor including, but not limited to, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, law, accounting, business specialties, theology, and the arts, and requiring the attainment of a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent as a minimum. Likewise, the foreign worker must possess at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent and state licensure, if required to practice in that field. H-1B work-authorization is strictly limited to employment by the sponsoring employer.

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