Hi Guys,
If you managed to build a sizable real estate portfolio (e.g 20 or more) in the US, would there be a posibility that the US government will view you as important player helping their state of the economy by providing community housing hence would the US government grant you a "permanent resident" (greencard) when you apply for one?
You would need to apply for an E2 visa which entails a business plan and a whole raft of documentation which, if approved, would allow you to stay for 2 years at a time. A Green Card can become a possibility down the track. It's a very hard road.
enter the lottery….do they still have the green card lotteries ?
Greencard lottery closes 1st November each year I believe.
i were one mouse click away from entering the lottery back in 2000. Imagine how many place i could own by now ……..*L*
Thanks ActToday. I recently read an article (but cannot remember which one since I read tons of them) whereby a lot of Australian investors regularly visit the US and wish if they are permanent resident, could leverage on their properties that they bought outright, then built even massive portpolio and retire comfortably. After all, replacing your income with passive income is all most investors desire.
Hey RickH, pls read your email. Cheers
Hi Leo,
I have a been buying properties in the US for about 5 years now and have well over 20 of them. I asked a similiar question to the US Consulate sometime ago. The E2 visa (treaty trader) would be a great way to at least enter and live in the US. it needs to be renewed every 2 years (meaning you must leave the US to renew it) but will allow you to live their indefinitely. Although there are a lot of implications living in the US and managing your property portfolio. There is the possibility of permanent status would need to be something like the EB 5 visa, which requires between $500k-$1mill invested in the USA (depends on city or country areas) and within a 2 year period you must have employed 10 full time staff (Americans or Permanent Residents) in your business. There is also a new EB6 visa requiring as little as $100K and this can be borrowed funds from an American source, you also must employ 5 American on a full time basis within 2 years.
All the best, if you hear anymore or finad out anything email me on [email protected]
regards,
Hello Investinusgroup,
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this info. A friend of a friend of mine, who used to drive truck in Kuwait during the gulf war, made sizeable earning then. He paid off his 500K mortgage here in 18months, then invested the lot in real estate 5 years ago in the US. Now he owns 15 properties in the US. Although he is a trucky in the US, he still go back here, renew his visa then return to US to exhaust his visa before time to renew. I guess he would be in E2 visa as well. Although is he travels around the US as trucky and investors, for number of years now still unable to get permanent residency.
Hi Investinusgroup,
Per the other posts, your best option would be to get an E2 treaty/ investor visa. Although, it is important to understand that you cannot begin the process of obtaining a green card while on ‘E’ classification visa’s. You can only do this on particular visa’s like the H1b.
If you are investing $500k – $1M in real estate and you hire Americans to manage, provide updates/ renovations to your properties, you definitely have a case for an E2. I would suggest that you hire a good attorney to set up the paper work, this can cost between $1k – $2.5k.
My gf is an immigration attorney and she would be happy to provide you with free advice. Just let me know.
-Kevin
I agree with Kevin's post above, that the E2 is probably the most suitable in a case like this.
Just be advised that the E2 visa does not have a path to permanent residency or U.S. Citizenship, and needs to be renewed, if I am correct, every 2-5 years. Once you sell your business, you need to leave the United States, no matter how long you have been in the country for. I know of a restaurant owner in Miami we used to do business with who came over on an E2 when he was 23, ran the restaurant until he was 54 when he sold it, and had to leave the country within 90 days. At that point – he had no other "home" to go to, as he considered himself American, but that's the law.For those owning a business overseas – moving to the US using an L1 (transfer/exec) visa is a better option (my personal opinion, I am not a lawyer) as this one is supposedly a bit more straight forward, does not require a large investment, and can lead straight to a Green Card.
I suggest you follow Kev's advise and seek legal advise in this case, as US immigration is VERY complicated!
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