Thread: What are our chances???

Hi all. I'm new here and would really appreciate some of your advice. You probably get questions like this all the time, so I apologise if its a little repetative!!. My husband and I and our 2 children 5 & 8 are seriously considering a move to Florida (poss Sarasota or Naples) We have approx 400k (£) behind us and are currently looking into our best visa option. It seems the most common route is the E2 but I'm just concerned about then aquiring the green card once there. My husband is a chartered surveyor and I think his rics qualification would not stand for much in the US. We have never run a business before, so this is something too that would be very new to us.

We really are so confused as to what to do for the best. We could afford the EB5 ($500 investment) but would then not be left with much for a house. Is this too much of a gamble putting all our money into one investment????

Thanking you in advance. Very very confused Mum of 2..........:spinny:

Hi,

Maybe it's down to what you are able to get/what your choices are, and not what you would prefer?
There isn't a one size fits all, situation when it comes to immigration like this.

As you are probably aware, an E2 there is no direct route to citizenship or permanent residence by itself, so you're effectively looking at the EB5 if you want permanent residence on a greencard via investment here. You knew that anyway, right?
Besides that if you buy a business on an E2 visa and the business fails, you're effectively out of status and eventually out of the country, unless you qualify for something else.
However just because there is no "direct" route it doesn't mean that it is necessarily impossible for it to happen, just that it's not an easy choice to start with, and not one that I personally would want to take.

Your husbands RICS qualifications should be transcribeable, and the degree that he no doubt has too, will be.

Plenty of houses here in Florida, due to the depressed housing market. Make sure you check them out though, and never buy something unseen over the net.
IMHO your best idea would be to rent for a while first, that would not only free up your cashflow but also allow you to check out the local area and get familiar with it for a start.

Basically it seems like you'll need to look at the areas in FL that you're talking about right now, and decide where you'll eventually want to live and then look for investments within your commuteable distance.