F-1 and investing in business
Kilroy Bass
My F-1 is about to expire when I graduate, and I have already used up
my OPT. Unfortunately, I haven't had any H-1 sponsorship. So, I'm
trying to find ways to stay here legally.
My brother-in-law owns a restaurant. I am thinking of becoming a
partner in his business.
What are the immigration laws regarding F-1 visa carriers and owning a
business? Would I need to change to another visa if I were to be a
partner?
Bye.
Ingo Pakleppa
If "partner" means "investor" and you don't actually work for him,
then you can do that on any type of visa, or even without a visa at
all - however, such a relationship would not give you any right to be
in the US. So you would have to continue to study on your F-1, or find
an H-1 sponsor and actually work there, or similar.
There is one exception: if you invest at least one million dollars and
hire at least 10 Americans, then you could get a Green Card as an
investor under the EB-5 category. There are other conditions, and I'm
not sure if it is enough to invest in an existing business - you may
have to open another restaurant.
If being a partner means actually working there - whether as a
manager, a chef, a waiter, a host, a bus boy or whatever other jobs
there are in a restaurant - then you would need the appropriate visa
and work authorization. Realistically, there probably is no
"appropriate" visa for this type of work that you could get quickly,
so this may not be possible. You will be able to get an EB-3 based
Green Card for such a job, provided that you can prove that there is
no American to take the job.
One possibility might be a treaty trader visa (E-1) if you are from a
treaty country and the restaurant is an ethnic restaurant that would
do a lot of business with your home country. I don't know details
about that, though.
Ingo
On 28 Feb 2002 14:39:35 -0800, kilro...@catlover.com (Kilroy Bass)
wrote:
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.
For reliable advice, please consult with a
professional immigration attorney.
For further information, check the following
frequently-requested links.
For many questions, you may find answers at
http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html
(Department of State)
or
http://ins.usdoj.gov (INS).
For consular policies and visa reciprocity fees,
find your consulate in
http://travel.state.gov/links.html
For DOL Faxback status information:
http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/
For information on affidavit of support for marriage
to US citizens (I-864), go to
http://travel.state.gov/i864gen.html
and
http://travel.state.gov/checklist.html
For information on entering the US as a K-1:
http://www.k1poelist.com/
For poverty levels, see
http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/poverty/00poverty.htm
For information on H/L/O/P visa extensions at Dept.
of State in St. Louis, MO, see
http://travel.state.gov/revals.html
For non-official information, check:
(When using these sites, and any Web sites, please
watch out for privacy, as I do not know all site
operators.)
http://www.visalaw.com
http://www.shusterman.com
http://www.immigration.com
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall
http://www.murthy.com/
http://www.richw.org/dualcit/ (dual citizenship FAQ)
http://www.ilw.com/pederson/visa.htm (dual citizenship info)
http://www.srs-usvisa.com
http://www.getusavisa.com
http://greencard-lottery.virtualave.net/
http://www.jcvisa.com
(H-1B) http://www.h1bresources.com
(marriage and fiancee) http://www.kamya.com/misc/
(marriage and fiancee) http://www2.apex.net/users/thehydes
http://www.formshome.com
http://www.workpermit.com
This is not an endorsement of any of these Web sites.
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and do not receive nor accept payment in return for
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(if believe you have a good immigration-related Web
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