Treaty Investor Countries
Albania, Argentina, Armenia Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, China (Taiwan), Colombia, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia Ethiopia, Finland, France Georgia, Germany, Grenada, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea (South), Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia
E1/E2 - Treaty Trader/Treaty Investor Visas Traders and investors, their families, and qualified employees may be eligible for entry under the E category. Requirements include:
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national of a country that has a particular commercial treaty with the United States (partial list above);
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"substantial" investment in a company in the U.S., or regular trading with the U.S. (although there is no set number, for E2 investor category, what is recommended is a $75,000-$100,000 minimum investment);
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must have principal investor or "key employee" status in this company
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Business must have at least 3 to 4 us citizen (W-2) employees.
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Can not be a home based business.
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Must show a reasonable manager salary $35,000 to $50,000 and profit equal to managers salary on the tax returns for the last 2 years.
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for E2 investor, must not depend on income from the investment as sole source of income unless such income is far beyond what is necessary to support principal E2 holder and his/her dependents;
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visas in the E category can be extended indefinitely, as long as the trading or investment activity in the U.S. continues;
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E visas do NOT lead to permanent residence (the green card) for principal investors and traders;
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E2 investor classification was not designed for retirees, for philanthropists as such, or for the employees of nonprofit organizations.
*This is only meant as a rough outline and Enterprise Brokers, Inc. makes no claims as to the accuracy of this information. Immigration matters can be quite complex and we reccommend that anyone pursing this option should get in touch with a Member of the American Immigration Layers Association.
Pre-Qualification Stage
After your first contact with us, we will have a conversation with you to determine how we can help you move to the area.
During this conversation we will also encourage questions that you may have about the process – about buying a business in the USA, the Visa process or about the services available to you through Enterprise Brokers.
Our aim will be to help and guide you by introducing trusted professionals who will all play a part in facilitating the move of your family and your assets to the area
During this stage we will work with you to determine if you have the funds available to achieve your aims.
Funds Availability (E-2 Treaty Investor Visa category)
It is generally required that the entire purchase price of a business be available prior to submitting a visa application.
In other visa categories, availability of funding may not necessarily required. However, it is unlikely that a business seller will accept an offer on a business will a significant financial contingency (such as the sale of the buyer’s residence) exists. It is therefore sensible for you to be able to prove, regardless of visa type, that funds for the business purchase are available before starting the next Stage.
So you see the availability of funding is critical. The source of funding is not important. For E-2 Visa purposes, acceptable methods of obtaining funding would include home equity loans, personal loans, family loans, and gifts.
Investigation Stage
a) Review lists of available E2 businesses.
b) Sign a Confidentiality and Nondisclosure Agreement so that your Enterprise Brokers agent can get detailed information on selected businesses from the seller or the sellers agent
c) Review financial statements, tax returns, pictures, and other documentation regarding selected businesses
d) Conference call and/or personal visit with seller and or his agent.
Pre-Qualified Businesses - Assisted by our affiliated immigration attorney ,We review financial statements, tax returns, and other documentation to assess visa compatibility and financial history.
Offer & Contract Stage
a) We help you negotiate price and terms with seller
b) Sign a binding sales contract with appropriate contingencies
c) Buyer makes 10% deposit which will be held in trust by an attorney. This could be the 'Closing attorney' or the immigration attorney. Depending on circumstances. the key point here is that your money is held in trust and will be repaid to you in the contingency circumstances outline below.
Contingency Clauses
All sales contracts negotiated Enterprise Brokers include several contingency clauses to protect the interests of the buyer. While the types of contingencies may vary, two are commonly included in all contracts. First, all contracts include a due diligence contingency, giving the buyer and or his representative, an opportunity to conduct a detailed review of the seller’s books and records. Second, all contracts include a visa approval contingency, making the closing of the transaction dependant upon visa approval.
If any contractual contingencies are not met, the transaction is terminated, and the buyer’s deposit refunded.
Note: of late some seller have refused to sign contracts with the visa contingency in place because of the length of time that the business will have to be of the market while the visa is processed. Please ask us more about this as we have a way of dealing with this situation.
Refundable Deposit
Deposits are normally refundable to the buyer when either:
1) Contractual contingencies (including the due diligence and visa contingencies) are not satisfied, or
2) All contingencies are satisfied, but the seller defaults
The only time a buyer’s deposit is forfeited is when all contractual contingencies are satisfied, and the buyer defaults by failing to close.
Due Diligence Stage
** NOTE ** This stage of the process should be performed by an independent Certified Public Accounting firm, under the direction of the buyer
Due diligence procedures include a more in depth and thorough review of the seller’s financial and other records than the review previously conducted by Enterprise Brokers. The purpose of due diligence is to verify the seller’s financial and other representations. This review of the sellers documentation is completed by an independent CPA who will review documentation to verify the seller’s assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, profitability, customer base, suppliers, staffing, lease terms, etc…
The cost for due diligence is negotiated directly between the buyer and service provider. Our experience however, is that due diligence services generally cost between $1,000.00 and $3,000.00 depending upon the level of service requested by the buyer.
Visa Petition & Approval Stage
This stage of the process is completed by our Affiliated Immigration attorney in Florida
a) Visa petition prepared and submitted for approval
b) The balance of any purchase funds in excess of the deposit must be deposited into the trust account prior to visa petition submission
c) Currently, all approved visa applicants must attend an interview at the appropriate embassy or consulate to secure visa issuance
d) Gather family and move to Location (We can help you find a home to buy or lease at any time during this process)
We suggest that , if necessary, you borrow to buy the home (we can help with that too) as we will, almost definitely, be able to get you a loan on a residence but NO ONE will be able to get you a loan to buy a business) Please ask us why :)
Closing Stage
This stage of the process is completed in co-operation with an independent closing attorney
a) Lease assignment secured if necessary (this may require a refundable deposit to be lodged with the landlord).
b) Inventory taken by buyer and seller when necessary
c) Licenses secured, as required
d) Lien search (see below) conducted by independent closing attorney
e) Closing documents prepared and closing conducted by closing attorney
It is critical that a lien search be conducted on all business purchases.
A lien search is conducted by the closing attorney to determine whether all assets are indeed free and clear for transfer. When a filed lien or recorded UCC filing indicates the existence of a secured creditor, arrangements are made to satisfy the lien or UCC filing in conjunction with the closing.
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