moving fro the uk the orlando (rent, living in, beach)

[TriMT7]

If you're young enough, think about enrolling in school!

[Emigre]

Originally Posted by RICHNTRISH

Hi Emigre,
Yes you can put a claus into the contract making it conditional on getting the visa, before putting the money into escrow .
The EB-5 sounds interesting , i thought it was a bit iffy when explained to me but maybe i was wrong , do you have any good links on it ?
Are you garanteed by the goverment to get the money back after 2 years ?
Richard.

Richard,

The money is invested by companies into areas of economic deprivation, so the risk you take is as any commercial risk. We're signed up with American Life (probably the best known of these companies, tho' there are several others). American Life have basically bought swathes of downtown Seattle & then do it up & rent it out - you get a retunn on the rental but have to wait for the property to be sold (or be able to sell your investment on), before getting your money returned. As an example, we've bought into a project to do up a Holiday Inn. We've paid $0.5M & this will cover the cost of doing up the building. The building is then rented to Holiday Inn & will then probably be sold onto a commercial company that deals in these sort of leases. At this point, we (& all the other investors) will get their money back. American Life offer the full package - investment & attorneys. If you don't get accepted by the US attorneys, you get your money back - they've not had one refusal yet. Initially you get a green card with conditions, which then get removed after 2 years. If you google EB5, you'll fit it OK.

Obviously the stumbling block is the upfront finance - we sold our house to finance it (we'd more than tripled our money on the UK property market). As well as the $0.5M, you also have to factor in attorney costs.

[LindyUK]

It has taken him best part of 2 or 3 weeks to reply to my email to him, but here is the reply I received:~
[SIZE=2]In U.S. immigration law there are two broad categories: Immigrants and Non-Immigrants. Immigrants are individuals who seek to reside permanently in the United States; i.e., seeking a green card. Non-immigrants are individuals who enter the U.S. for a temporary reason, such as employment.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2][/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]There is some overlap between these two broad categories in that “employees” and “investors” may often enter temporarily and later convert their status to that of a permanent resident. Based on the information you have provided, it would appear that your primary options would relate to either being sponsored by a US employer or through an investment. Investment may include starting a business or purchasing an existing business.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2][/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Whether or not you “have a chance” of immigrating to the U.S. depends upon a host of factors and without more details I cannot advise you as to the likelihood of success. The purpose of our initial consultation is review the options that may be available to you and to explain what we can and cannot do. [/SIZE]
So, all what you have advised on this thread appears to be correct ~ many thanks to you all xx
Hope that other Brits who are thinking about a new life in Florida will read this thread and digest its contents, and realise just how difficult it can be to get over there (unless you are wealthy and have plenty of spare cash floating around, or are young enough to have many years building up a good reputable business or in a profession that is likely to get a sponsorship)

[mr&mrssunshine]

Hi, thought I would share our experiences up to now. We started planning to move around 5 years ago. Mrs S has completed her nurse training and is now going through 'the process'. This consists of 1) being assessed as suitable to take the Nclex exam (CES). This has currently taken 6 months and the organisation are about as slow as can be. 2) Once (if) she is approved she then has to sit the NCLEX exam. 3) Assuming she passes she then has to find a hospital willing to offer her a job and sponsor her for a green card. The good news is this final stage can take up to 18 months due to a little thing called retrogression.

So we have decided to take a different route. We are now going to go the L1 way. I own a business here in the UK , which needs to have traded for 12 months and also employ 5 Brits. Fortunately 'employ' includes sub contractors (its Construction based) so it qualifies. As far as the US company goes we have been advised that once we set it up we have a few (2-3) months to employ a US citizen. Within the first 6 we should also have a licensed professional on board and by month 12 be running the LP plus 2-3 other employees (labourers/manual workers/office workers etc). The business must show it can pay for the Americans and also provide us with a living wage.. The good part is the UK business can do that so we can transfer funds to help 'boost ' the business.
The interesting thing is that we have been told that once we have actively traded for 12 months we can apply for a green card and once it is issued we do not have to keep the business going.

This means we are looking at around 18 months ,however by that time hopefully Mrs S will have got a nursing job and get her green card that way, giving us a fall back.

Oh and after 4 years and 9 months of holding a green car- you can apply to become a US citizen.

Would be interested if anyone sees any holes in the game plan.

[tonrob]

Originally Posted by mr&mrssunshine

Hi, thought I would share our experiences up to now. We started planning to move around 5 years ago. Mrs S has completed her nurse training and is now going through 'the process'. This consists of 1) being assessed as suitable to take the Nclex exam (CES). This has currently taken 6 months and the organisation are about as slow as can be. 2) Once (if) she is approved she then has to sit the NCLEX exam. 3) Assuming she passes she then has to find a hospital willing to offer her a job and sponsor her for a green card. The good news is this final stage can take up to 18 months due to a little thing called retrogression.

So we have decided to take a different route. We are now going to go the L1 way. I own a business here in the UK , which needs to have traded for 12 months and also employ 5 Brits. Fortunately 'employ' includes sub contractors (its Construction based) so it qualifies. As far as the US company goes we have been advised that once we set it up we have a few (2-3) months to employ a US citizen. Within the first 6 we should also have a licensed professional on board and by month 12 be running the LP plus 2-3 other employees (labourers/manual workers/office workers etc). The business must show it can pay for the Americans and also provide us with a living wage.. The good part is the UK business can do that so we can transfer funds to help 'boost ' the business.
The interesting thing is that we have been told that once we have actively traded for 12 months we can apply for a green card and once it is issued we do not have to keep the business going.

This means we are looking at around 18 months ,however by that time hopefully Mrs S will have got a nursing job and get her green card that way, giving us a fall back.

Oh and after 4 years and 9 months of holding a green car- you can apply to become a US citizen.

Would be interested if anyone sees any holes in the game plan.

Seems sound enough on the face of it - I went L1 > Green Card but via employment rather than running a business. I suppose the hard work comes in keeping both sides of the business afloat simultaneously, especially living 3000 miles away from the UK side. No reason it can't be done though - just rather you than me! Not sure about what the indicators for a successful business would be on the U.S. side in the eyes of the USCIS. You mention the possibility of transferring funds from the UK to 'boost the (U.S.) business' - but would they need to see the U.S. business operate and provide you with a living independently? I really have no idea on this score - it's just a thought.

Good luck!

[mr&mrssunshine]

I plan on 'commuting' once a month flying back to the Uk Sunday then 'home ' to Florida the following Friday. Grim but not impossible, using Virgin I can at least get a bed on the red eye to the Uk.

Agree the funds from the Uk may need to enter the business indirectly again the plan is to invest in property and do my own management but charge myself (if you see what I mean). Its all short term until Mrs S gets her nursing sorted

[tonrob]

Originally Posted by mr&mrssunshine

I plan on 'commuting' once a month flying back to the Uk Sunday then 'home ' to Florida the following Friday. Grim but not impossible, using Virgin I can at least get a bed on the red eye to the Uk.

Agree the funds from the Uk may need to enter the business indirectly again the plan is to invest in property and do my own management but charge myself (if you see what I mean). Its all short term until Mrs S gets her nursing sorted

Do you know to what degree the retrogression timespan is deemed 'fixed'? Might be completely different in her circumstances but I do know of other cases (not neccesarily with the same visa type) in which the dates just keep shifting - "retrogression hell" I believe it's known as in some circles... Might be a question to ask if you haven't done so already.

[mr&mrssunshine]

to be honest we havent got that far yet. from what I read a while ago it was around 15 months +/- 3. There were stories that things were to be sped up as there was an acute shortage of nurses (rather rubs salt in the wound). Even the CES stage is run at snails pace. last week they asked for more detials on info they had held for 2 months. Thye just waited for everything then looked- and then decided they needed a breakdown of study hours !!! Our agent keeps saying patience, but ours has run out. So I am going to have to spend a bloody fortune on running a business I dont want. Bang goes early retirement and sitting by the pool !!!

[cfIfan]

Im just wondering where abouts in Kent are you from. Im originally from Sandwich, and went to school in Canterbury. I still have family over there. Which agent are you using.

[thepinkkerplink]

hi there. i am selling 2 villas in kissimmee and davenport if you are interested or rent them