After Trump's Election: Business as Usual
By Suzanne E. Vazquez | US Immigration Attorney
Posted: December 15, 2016
So the results are in and Donald Trump is going to be the 45th President of the United States of America. For legal immigration to the United States, we expect business as usual. Though Donald Trump promises to be tough on enforcement, foreign investors are still likely to be courted by the United States.
The Central Florida area is a direct beneficiary of many investors. The Immigration Law office of Vazquez & Poudat, represents many foreigner investors who fall in love with places like Central Florida.
Many people mistakenly believe the only investor visa is for people who can invest a million dollars. The EB5 “million dollar investment” is a program whose continuing existence is much debated.
There are alternatives to the EB5 program and the alternatives are what the vast majority of our clients pursue. Why would you part with large amounts of your hard- earned money if you didn’t need to?
At the moment the non- immigrant E2 visa is very obtainable for a much lower investment, and that is where most of our investor clients start. It provides work authorization to the investor and their spouse. It is renewable indefinitely as long as you maintain your investment. It does require that the investor possess citizenship with a participating treaty country, but many of our clients have dual citizenship or discover that they can obtain it. Depending on the specifics of each investor client including the spouses citizenship, education, occupation and employability and whether there is a company abroad that could be expanded into the USA, you may find a much less expensive path to permanent residence in the United States than the EB5.
Here is one example: Martin and his wife are computer engineers from Spain who want to reside permanently in the USA. Martin wants to get into real estate investing. They have earmarked 200k to invest but are concerned that they don’t have enough to get the Eb5 visa for permanent residence. A good plan for them could consist of getting the E2 visa (for up to five years) and work authorization for Martin’s spouse. With her employability and in- demand skill set, she could likely obtain a job from a US employer who could sponsor her through labor certification for which she and Martin (and any children under 21) could receive permanent residence.
This type of plan could also work for a spouse who has no current employability but has the willingness to go to nursing school and obtain an RN which could lead to the same result.
Just as with any important aspect of your life, getting the right guidance from the right people from the beginning is the key to success. We work closely with your business broker, CPA and business attorney to achieve the desired results. If you need referrals to other professionals, we can provide that too.
Vazquez & Poudat has two attorneys certified as specialists and experts in immigration law by the Florida Bar Association practicing exclusively immigration law. In some instances we can choose among consulates to send our clients and do so regularly with our finger on the pulse of adjudication trends and processing times.
In our offices near Lake Eola in Downtown Orlando, we have a fantastic team at your disposal. Hablamos Espanol/Falamos Portugues. CALL US on 407-674-6968. We would love to meet you.
