Immigration and Naturalization
Thu, Jul 29th, 2010

Investors

The immigration laws provide that certain investors may qualify for immigrant (permanent) status or nonimmigrant (temporary) status.

The Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Investor: E-2 Investors and Employees

E-2 Investors are foreign nationals of a country with which the U.S. has a bilateral investment treaty or agreement, who are coming to the U.S. to direct and develop the operations of an enterprise in which they have invested or is in the process of investing substantially.

An E-2 Employee is an employee of a qualified E-2 Investor/Employer.  The E-2 Employee must be  either an executive or manager, an individual with specialized qualifications that are essential to the efficient operation of the employer's business enterprise, a highly trained technician, or a start-up employee.

The Immigrant (Permanent) Investor: EB-5 Investors

Permanent resident status based on EB-5 eligibility is available to investors, either alone or coming with their spouse and unmarried children.  Eligible foreign nationals are those who have invested -- or are actively in the process of investing -- the required amount of capital into a new commercial enterprise that they have established.  They must further demonstrate that this investment will benefit the United States economy and create the requisite number of full-time jobs for qualified persons within the United States.