If you are a foreign investor, you should familiarize yourself with an E-Visa as it offers numerous benefits for owners of high-cost enterprise in the U.S.  The Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.) provides nonimmigrant visa status for a national of a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation who is coming to the United States to carry on substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, principally between the United States and the treaty country, or to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which the national has invested, or is in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital.

Foreign Medical entrepreneurs through this Act may purchase medical supply firms, medical offices, dental offices, or any other substantial business related operation. However, not all nationals apply to this Act. For example, citizens of India do not qualify.

Nationals of participating countries should be aware of the following stipulations as laid out by INA:

An investor must own a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the company. In addition, employees of the same nationality may also work on an E-2 visa. Some specific requirements include:

• The investor, either a real or corporate person, must be a national of a treaty country;
• The investment must be substantial. It must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the enterprise. The percentage of investment for a low-cost business enterprise must be higher than the percentage of investment in a high-cost enterprise;
• The investment must be a real operating enterprise. Speculative or idle investment does not qualify. Uncommitted funds in a bank account or similar security are not considered an investment;

The investment may not be marginal. It must generate significantly more income than just to provide a living to the investor and family, or it must have a significant economic impact in the United States;

• The investor must have control of the funds, and the investment must be at risk in the commercial sense. Loans secured with the assets of the investment enterprise are not allowed; and
• The investor must be coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the enterprise. If the applicant is not the principal investor, he or she must be employed in a supervisory, executive, or highly specialized skill capacity. Ordinary skilled and unskilled workers do not qualify.

Applicants for an E-Visa are not required to state specific intent for travel, and timeframe of stay, in the US. Also, applicants should not worry about maintaining a permanent address at their home country; the Act merely asks for an unequivocal statement of return abroad. The children of the Visa holder provided they are unmarried and under the age of 21, are entitled to the same Visa classification as the principal visa holder. The nationality of the spouse or children is irrelevant to the conditions of the Visa, and the spouse may apply for a separate working Visa while in the U.S.

With this Visa, can foreign nationals really take a advantage of a burgeoning American medical market? Are the conditions of the Visa too severe?  Also, how does this promote trade with other countries?  It seems the the Visa means to attract endogenous markets from abroad to cultivate a business here at the expense of the visa holder’s country of origin.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 8:34 am and is filed under Business, Immigration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.