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Complicated E-2 Extension Overseas

Overcoming Complicated Route To Extend E-2 Visa For Overseas Client

  • Applicant: Mr. Tan
  • Nationality: Singapore
  • Applying for: E-2 Extension Overseas
  • Case Type: E-2
  • Time: 6 months
  • Challenges:
    • Consular offices look unkindly on E-2 Visa applicants who didn’t originally petition from their home country.
    • Petitioner had no proof he ran a legitimate company.
    • Mr. Tan’s original law firm was no longer in business, and he needed to find a new one quickly

BACKGROUND

Mr. Tan knew the deadline was approaching to extend his E-2 visa. In fact, the visa required renewal every two years, and for that period he put off thinking about the inevitable. As a man of great wealth, Mr. Tan usually had “people” to handle inconveniences for him. This time he’d be facing the Consular Office in Singapore face-to-face and he knew they’d look unkindly upon him. Mr. Tan’s unfortunate situation was of his own making, and he knew it. He’d originally come to the United States on a B1/B2 visitor’s visa. Then he applied for an E-2 Treaty Investor visa without going through his home country of Singapore. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) allows a citizen of a treaty country (a country with which the U.S. maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation) to be admitted to the United States when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business.

With the help of an attorney, Mr. Tan created an entity (not-unlike a shell corporation) where he could show investment and qualify for the E-2 visa. The plan worked, but now Mr. Tan faced two problems. One, the Singapore Consular Office doesn’t like when their citizens apply for E-2 visas without their oversight and approval. This time, Mr. Tan would have to reapply for an extension of his E-2 through them. Second, Mr. Tan would have a difficult time proving he had a legitimate company in the United States. His situation was not looking bright. Thankfully, he contacted the immigration law experts at Tsang and Associates.

 

KEYS TO SUCCESS

An in-person interview with the Singapore Consular Office was inevitable and unavoidable. Tsang and Associates drafted a strategy to make that meeting a success. The firm created a package for Mr. Tan to deliver to the Consular Office explaining his need for an extension based upon an innovative business model. Instead of focusing on the lack of growth the business has shown in two years, the package detailed the expanded future business plan.

The challenge for Tsang and Associates was taking the real accomplishments of Mr. Tan and applying them to a viable business model. Like many wealthy individuals, Mr. Tan ran his personal life like a business and had many families and friends who did the same. This larger group had been investing in commercial properties over the two-year span while paying salaries to people to oversee their investments. Tsang and Associates helped Mr. Tan formalize that business infrastructure. In the Attorney Brief, to be presented to the Nonimmigrant Case Officer at the Singapore Consular Office, Tsang and Associates explained Mr. Tan’s intention to speed up his company’s foothold in property management. The expansion included Mr. Tan’s plan to quadruple the number of employees, his commitment to invest over half a million dollars into the company, and evidence of increased commercial real estate acquisitions. Two other important points the package covered was offering proof the business would provide more than marginal income (income exceeding mere support of the investor and his family) and Mr. Tan’s intent to return to Singapore when his E-2 visa expires.

 

OUTCOME

Mr. Tan returned to Singapore to deliver his package to the Consular Office. The package was so thorough and well-prepared that Mr. Tan received quick approval for the extension of his E-2 visa. Mr. Tan was shocked in how effectively and in-depth Tsang & Associates handled his case, but was also grateful. He could not have imagined going through the process with any other law firm. Tsang and Associates is proud to have played a vital role in helping Mr. Tan’s dream of business success in the United States come true.