B-2 Extension Successfully Converted to E-2 Visa

Year of company establishment: 2015
Industry: Golf Tourism
Nationality: Originally from China, later joined Canadian nationality
Investment amount: $80,000
Applicant: Ms. Li
Applicant Position: Founder
B-2 extension approval date: 12/01/2015
E-2 Final Approval Date: 07/20/2016

Difficulties in this case:
– The applicant’s origin is Chinese and later joined Canadian citizenship, which has challenges in proving the binding nature of the E-2 return
– As a housewife, the applicant has no formal source of income and her investments come mainly from friends and her husband
– Smaller investment amount, only $80,000
– Applicant’s health is too weak to manage the company’s affairs
– The applicant has two children of U.S. citizenship and had a clear tendency to immigrate when she first came to the U.S. to have children

Brief background:
Ms. Li wanted to start a business in the United States, but did not know the rules and did not have legal work status in the United States, so she looked online and found Tsang & Associates for help. As a Canadian citizen from China, Ms. Li had always dreamed of opening a golf travel consulting company to help people learn to play golf in the United States. However, she lacked experience within the company’s industry sector. In order to successfully set up and run a company, one usually needs a period of time to prepare and build a foundation. Therefore, we recommended that she proceed with the E-2 visa application, but to better prepare her for the start-up of her company, we also recommended that she retain her B-2 visa.

However, the unforeseen happened, and shortly after Ms. Lee came to the U.S. to prepare her business plan, she became seriously ill, making it difficult for her to continue her work. Her illness became the biggest stumbling block on the road to entrepreneurship and threatened to derail her efforts. At the same time, every day in the U.S. could not be wasted as she needed to travel to the East Coast to find a business partner. To make matters worse, her illness kept her bedridden for weeks, and she was unable to complete her work assignments on time.

Tsang & Associates responded quickly and aggressively to this unforeseen situation. In December 2015, our application for a six-month extension was approved, changing her visa from a B-2 tourist visa to a B-1 business visa in preparation for her future E-2 trade investor visa application. Ms. Lee then went to the U.S. Consulate in Toronto for her E-2 visa interview in July 2016 and was successful in obtaining a 5-year visa.

Application Requirements.
– The treaty investor must acquire the nationality of the treaty country
– The invested company must be a real U.S. company with actual operations, not a “shell company”
– Large and irrevocable amount of money invested in the business
– Investments must not be marginal
– Investors must be able to develop and manage the company
– The investor must intend to leave the country at the end of the E-2 visa period

Keys to success:
First, Tsang & Associates explained in detail the purpose of Ms. Lee’s visit to the United States. We suggested that Ms. Li was inspired to start a golf travel consulting company in the United States because of her passion for the sport. Also, Ms. Lee knew many Chinese business people who could help grow this business. This was critical because we realized that there needed to be a strong reason to apply for a B-2 visa extension.

Second, Tsang & Associates used professional and sufficient documentation to prove that Ms. Lee had sufficient funds to support her stay in the United States. This ensured that she would not participate in any illegal activities or work illegally. Documentation included her family bank statements, tax records, and proof of assets.

Finally, Tsang & Associates submits that Ms. Lee’s trip to the United States was in full compliance with U.S. law pursuant to 9 FAM 41.31 N4. The establishment of the company for the purpose of the subsequent E-2 visa application was a legitimate business practice. In addition to that, we were able to exclude her immigration tendencies by producing relevant documents that demonstrated strong ties to her family and property in Canada.

Case results:
Ms. Lee’s B-2 visa extension went through without any additional filing instructions. During the extension period, she was able to stay in the U.S. to prepare for the E-2 prep, leave the U.S. before the extension expired, and then return to Canada to obtain a visa through the consulate. She was also able to successfully change status and obtain an E-2 trade investor visa to start her golf travel consulting company in the U.S.

Ms. Lee was overjoyed at the success of her case. She was sure that her illness, although not fatal, would have greatly reduced the chances of getting her case through and even destroyed any possibility. However, the professional team at Tsang & Associates knew there was another legal path open to her, and we promised, and proved, to lead her to that path of success.