Can an E2 Visa Holder Apply for a Green Card?
From an E2 Visa to a Green Card
Can an E2 visa holder apply for a green card? The E2 visa doesn’t provide a straightforward path to filing for a Green Card since the E2 visa holder must have had no intention of immigrating to the US at the time the E2 visa was issued. There are, however, alternative ways that may allow E2 visa holders to shift to a path that provides permanent residence status in the US and helps the green card application process.
Obtaining a Green Card with EB5 Visa
Those who are dissatisfied with a temporary stay in the United States and want to obtain a green card have the option to switch to an EB5 visa after successful business development and want to bring it to the required level by US laws (generating at least 10 jobs and increasing total investment amount up to at a minimum of $900,000).
Trusted E2 Visa Attorney in Hallandale Beach, Fl
You will be asked to provide documentation in order to assess the company’s financial condition and the availability of the requisite number of jobs. Our immigration specialists have many years of success with the EB5 visa program and will be able to assist you with gathering and completing the necessary documentation.
If you want to apply for US citizenship and need assistance with your immigrant visa application, give AmLaw Group a call. Our team of US immigration attorneys in Miami, Florida is here to help you at every step of the application process.
E2 Visa: What is it?
The E2 visa, also known as the Treaty Investor Visa, is a nonimmigrant visa for country investors and businesses that come from a qualifying treaty country.
E2 visa holders can live as well as work in the United States while growing their business inside the country. In order to be eligible for an E2 visa, a visa applicant must intend to make a large investment into a legal US business rather than a foreign company. Additional conditions must also be satisfied, including the hiring of US workers and intending to generate profits within 5 years.
Time Restrictions for Permanent Residency
An E2 treaty investor is allowed to stay in the United States for 2 years and must apply for a visa renewal before the expiration of their E2 visa. Those with an E2 visa are permitted to remain in the US provided they intend to go back to their home country once their status expires. The E2 visa is renewable indefinitely provided the business stays viable.
Obtaining Permanent Residency
The E2 visa doesn’t provide a direct route to getting a green card or a permanent residence status, there are still some opportunities available to a treaty investor who desires to be a United States citizen.
EB2 Visa: The Employer Sponsorship Option
There are times when a treaty investor gets a job offer from a company based in the US. This would put them on the path to getting a green card through employment-based immigration.
An E2 treaty investor may be sponsored by an employer through the second preference category (EB2). Therefore, foreign employees with exceptional ability or professionals with a graduate degrees are qualified to work in the US.
E2 visa holders can be sponsored too through the third preference category (EN3), which is a visa suitable for skilled workers, professionals with a bachelor’s degree, and, ultimately, unskilled workers.
Then the next stage is obtaining a PERM Labor Certification. The PERM process’ goal is to make sure that permanent residents don’t get left out of a job offer because it went to a candidate who is a foreign national. During the PERM certification process, sponsoring businesses must also file a “prevailing wage determination” and advertise the job opening for a minimum of thirty days so that legal permanent US residents can have an opportunity to apply for the job position.
The timetable of an EB2 Route to a Green Card
An E2 visa shift to a green card through the EB2 pathway can be very time-consuming. Timeframe-wise, the PERM process can take anywhere between 8-11 months to complete and in the issuance of proper labor certification. The employer then must file an I-140 Immigrant Petition with United States immigration services.
An applicant can file an I-485 application to change status to legal permanent residence together with the I-140 Petition under existing visa rules. The I-140’s a compulsory step in the process for a green card for all foreign citizens filing employment-based petitions. But there isn’t a way to speed up this process, however, and it could take many years to achieve permanent resident status by converting an E2 visa into a green card in this way.
Obtaining Green Card Status Under the National Interest Waiver Program
The EB-2 National Interest Waiver may be a useful immigration route for E2 visa holders who want to be awarded legal permanent residence status and have valuable skills or advanced degrees.
Because of changes made by the US immigration services, the qualifying criterion for the E 2 visa was reduced, making it easier for some foreign citizens to qualify. Rather than go through the long process of PERM, the applicant can request that the labor certification and employer sponsorship conditions be waived since their citizenship will benefit the United States.
Requirements for Green Green Card Eligibility
The candidate must meet the following requirements to be eligible for the green card:
- They must show that their potential employment or business has considerable value as well as national significance.
- Possess the necessary experience and skills to guarantee the prosperity of their job/business.
- Prove how it would benefit the United States to waive the EB-2 visa category.
An applicant contemplating the National Interest Waiver alternatives is advised to seek counsel on strategies to build a compelling case. Success through this path has been achieved by many green card holders because E2 entrepreneurs were able to show existing profitable business operations.
EB5 Visa: An Alternative Route to Green Card
The EB5 visa, often known as the immigrant investor green card, is intended for foreign citizens who can provide direct investment in the United States.
Foreign national applicants should be capable of making an initial investment in a new business in order to be awarded legal permanent residence status under this fifth preference green card. The minimum investment has recently been raised, and new immigration regulations require investments ranging from $500,000 to $900,000 for targeted employment areas (TEAs), and up to $1.8 million for all other investments in US business opportunities.
The US immigration service caps the EB5 visa at 10,000 each year, and processing timeframes can change significantly, with some planned ventures needing several years to be approved and the applicant awarded permanent resident status.
The Family-based Visa Route to Green Card
One alternative for an E2 treaty investor is to seek a green card through family member sponsorship. A Family Based Green Card allows a foreign family of US citizens/permanent residents to obtain Green Card status.
Spouses, parents, children, and siblings of US citizens/Green Card holders can qualify for a Family Based Green Card.
There are two main paths to acquiring a Family Based Green Card: direct relatives and preference relatives. The Family Based Green Card program does not consider applicants’ academic or career backgrounds.
The US immigration service is more likely to accept immediate relatives for a green card, and there are no yearly caps on these kinds of green card applications.
Is a Florida Immigration Attorney Worth the Cost?
You may be wondering if it’s worthwhile to hire an immigration attorney in Hallandale Beach, Florida to help you given the abundance of free resources available to you online in this information-rich age.
You may be tempted to represent yourself in an immigration case since costs for visa fees, adjustments, biometrics, and filings have recently been on the rise. Many easy immigration issues can be resolved without the need for legal counsel, but immigration cases are seldom simple.
Here are some reasons why you should get legal advice from a Miami, Florida lawyer who specializes in immigration law.
- It will be significantly less expensive to hire a Florida immigration attorney to help with the filing of a family-based immigration application than it will be to hire an attorney to defend you in a deportation case before an immigration court.
- US immigration attorneys help with case efficiency. Hiring an immigration lawyer to finish your immigrant or nonimmigrant visa application is likely to save you four to eight weeks in processing time.
- US immigration attorneys help with risk reduction. An immigration lawyer can help you prepare for your interview in a consulate overseas or at USCIS within the United States. This considerably reduces the possibility of your application being rejected in the final stages.
- If you want to change your status because you recently got married or engaged to a U.S. citizen, or if you want a different type of visa or asylum, you will need legal advice from an immigration lawyer to find out if you should leave the U.S. and apply for relief at a U.S. consulate abroad, or if you should stay in the U.S. and go through the process inside the United States, which could include going to immigration court. You will not want to face an immigration judge on your alone if your adjustment needs to be resolved in immigration court!
Work with Experienced US Immigration Attorneys in Hallandale Beach, Florida!
If you are a businessman, investor, skilled professional, or somebody of distinction or extraordinary ability living in Miami Florida, our seasoned immigration attorneys can help make your immigration dream a reality.
Few other immigration law firms are able to match the results we can deliver with our distinctive business immigration philosophy and strategies. In the last ten years, our Florida immigration attorney at AmLaw Group has been successful in securing a 98% approval rate for our investors, businessman, and talented clients.
Contact us now for an appointment! We would love to help you with your immigration concerns!
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