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It's time for me to send in my E-2 Visa application to the U.S.
Question is: Will it benefit me get help from an immigration lawyer or could I just as well do it myself?
I don't really trust lawyers. Will they take my 10 grand just to fill out a couple of forms?
Who knows.
An investor's visa would be treated differently from other types of visas. For some categories, a lawyer would be a good investment, and could mean the difference between success and failure. If for any reason your application is rejected, a lawyer would be able to help you.
It doesn't lead to a green card in a straight line. So if a green card is your eventual goal, I'd get an attorney and try to keep it on the up and up. If your goal is to make a profit, you should still consult with the attorney working on behalf of the company you're attempting to invest in. And I'd make sure that the attorney you're working with, works on other E2 classes with other people from different nationalities and lines of business.
Meaning, if they attorney working for the intending company only does E2's for that line of business and for that one person, that's not good. An attorney who does E2s for different companies and for different people is a safer bet.
This type of visa class is easy for USCIS to look at down the road if you attempt to adjust status, because of the documentation required to obtain and maintain it. Any violation of the class would render you ineligible to adjust.
I don't know you, where you're from or your goals, but I'd tread carefully.
It doesn't lead to a green card in a straight line. So if a green card is your eventual goal, I'd get an attorney and try to keep it on the up and up. If your goal is to make a profit, you should still consult with the attorney working on behalf of the company you're attempting to invest in. And I'd make sure that the attorney you're working with, works on other E2 classes with other people from different nationalities and lines of business.
Meaning, if they attorney working for the intending company only does E2's for that line of business and for that one person, that's not good. An attorney who does E2s for different companies and for different people is a safer bet.
This type of visa class is easy for USCIS to look at down the road if you attempt to adjust status, because of the documentation required to obtain and maintain it. Any violation of the class would render you ineligible to adjust.
I don't know you, where you're from or your goals, but I'd tread carefully.
What does that mean? Will the heavy documentation help me or work against me later on if (when) I choose to go after a green card?
I spoke to an attorney a couple weeks ago who told me it was possible to get a green card if you changed the status of the Visa from E-2 to something else a year or two down the road.
What can the attorney do that I cannot do myself? Will he raise my chances of getting the Visa? Or will he make it easier for me to get a green card later on?
What does that mean? Will the heavy documentation help me or work against me later on if (when) I choose to go after a green card?
I spoke to an attorney a couple weeks ago who told me it was possible to get a green card if you changed the status of the Visa from E-2 to something else a year or two down the road.
What can the attorney do that I cannot do myself? Will he raise my chances of getting the Visa? Or will he make it easier for me to get a green card later on?
If so, it would be interesting.
Yes. E2's are eligible for adjustment of status. But most E2's adjust under an employment based petition.
If your E2 status is violated, you will not be eligible to adjust to en employment based category.
That's all I'm saying about your documentation. It is what it is. You need to submit sufficient evidence of your E2 status. And down the road... USCIS might ask for even more if/when you attempt to adjust to determine if you did in fact, maintain a legitimate E2 status. And they are well within their rights to do so.
Partly why you hear these sob stories of people who have been in the US for years but still can't get a green card is their own doing. They were never truly entitled to enter/stay in the US and they've been submitting shady documents in their quest to get a green card. There are some small numbers who didn't know their documents were bad. Some just had a bad attorney who slipped through the cracks and was able to obtain a green card on their behalf. But people often discover at the naturalization phase that they got their green card through mistakes/fraud and they can never naturalize because of it. USCIS won't remove them. But they won't let them become citizens either. They can still petition for others as lawful permanent residents, but anyone they petition for can't naturalize either. Fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine.
If everything you're doing is on the up-n-up, as they say, then you have no worries. Just stick to the rules and save all your documents to prove it when the time comes. You save them. Don't rely on USCIS or an attorney. There may come a day when you need those documents again.
I absolutely think you should invest in a qualified immigration attorney to help you with the E-2. The E-2 may seem simple on the surface, but in order to meet the treaty investor criterion you will have to submit a lot of financial and legal documentation that may be very complex. For a qualified attorney, instead, it would be easy to advise you on the proper documentation to submit and the proper evidence needed to meet the requirements of the E-2. For example, you have to prove the amount of the investment, the kind of investment, whether it's at risk, whether it is subject to tariffs, regulations, etc. and so on.
You also have to demonstrate your E employer is an actual corporate entity or sole proprietorship established under the laws of the country where it is established. You may need to provide Articles of Incorporation, tax returns, business plans, stock certificates, etc. as well as information on the U.S. entity (which may include evidence of office space or warehouse space, business registration, etc.).
This is not easy stuff to know on your own. The USCIS webpage does a poor job describing the E-2 visa, also because USCIS is generally not the agency that determines whether you and your employer qualify (see below).
The E visa is generally not obtained through USCIS (with some exceptions). Rather, the application is made at a U.S. consular section abroad, preferably in the same country as yours and the E-2 employer (note that one of the requirements of the E-1/E-2 visa is that your E employer must have the same corporate citizenship as you. For example, you must be a French citizen and your E employer must be a French-owned - or majority owned - concern).
It is possible to become a permanent resident while in E-2, but you will be required to go through a couple of attestations due to the particular way the E visa is set up and the various trade/investor agreements that govern this classification.
I know this visa intimately as this is how my father, an executive for an European company, ended up in the U.S. and dragged me along. He also did get permanent residence later down the road. This visa classification is often used by sole proprietors wishing to do business in the U.S. For this reason, it is heavily scrutinized to avoid instances when people are setting up fake companies to immigrate to the U.S. This is yet another reason why it would be wise to invest in the advice of a qualified immigration attorney.
You have willfully misquoted me and completely took it out of context.
I'm sorry your experience was a bad one, but that is hardly my fault and no reason for you to be so hostile to my posts in this forum.
Willfully? Is that springy cane or ruler about to appear for a knuckle-rap? I must curb my willfulness and will write that out (completely) a hundred times.
Oh, and if you could tell me about that "bad experience" I had I'd be grateful as I can't recall any such experience in context. I believe you may be confusing me with someone else ...
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