E2 Treaty Investory Visa For Manager Of Cleaning Company

• Applicant: Ms. Young
• Country/Region: Taiwan, China
• Business: Cleaning Services
  Position: Manager/Majority Owner
• Year Incorporated: 2017
• Number of Employees: 2
• Investment Amount: $60,000
• Challenges
  • Prior Denial only months before
  • Could not speak English
  • Small Cleaning Services Startup
  • The only Employees when submitting the E-2 was initially the Applicant’s US business Partner
  • The Business was operating out of a small apartment
  • Early investment was limited to a company vehicle and small amount of marketing
  • Ms. Young and her business partner had NO prior experience in cleaning industry
  • The company had no active clients and was making less than $1,700 in monthly profit
  • Many strong competitors in the industry.

BACKGROUND

Sometimes, even the most difficult of cases can be won and challenges overcome with the right legal strategy. Ms. Young came to Tsang and Associates in hopes that we would help her file an application as an E-2 Treaty Investor in order to obtain a visa to work as the Manager and Majority Owner of a Cleaning Company. There were, however, some challenges. Ms. Young had applied previously on her own and had her application rejected. Additionally, Ms. Young’s English skills were poor, she was founding a very small business with limited investment, and she had no experience in the cleaning industry. When Ms. Young came to Tsang & Associates, she was not particularly confident that her case could be won but was determined to achieve her dream and try one more time. However, she wanted to give things a shot, and did some research online, and came across our firm. After a consultation with our attorneys she started to have more confidence in our strategy and was eager to work with us as a team. For our part, we were confident that this case could be won and approved with the right kind legal strategy and documentation.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

In order for one to be successful in their E-2 visa application, there are several requirements that are necessary according to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services regulations:

• The treaty investor must possess the nationality of the treaty country
• The corporation must be a bona fide U.S. Corporation, a real operating enterprise and not a fictitious paper organization
• Capital invested must be substantial and irrevocably committed to the enterprise
• The investment cannot be marginal
• Investor must have ability to develop and direct the enterprise
• Investor must have intent to depart following the end of E-2 status

National of Treaty Country

When Ms. Young retained us at Tsang and Associates, we had full confidence that we could win the case despite the unique challenges. First, as Taiwan was a treaty country and that Ms. Young, as a Taiwanese citizen, qualified for the transfer. Secondly, as a majority owner, we could then establish Petitioner held controlling interest over the company. We established therefore that the company was completely under the ownership of a Taiwanese national and thus met the foreign ownership requirement.

Real and Operating Enterprise

An additional requirement we had to show was that the company was a real operating enterprise. By providing various documentary evidence such as company bank statements, photographs of the location, business license, along with various contracts with clients, we demonstrated that the company was indeed doing business. We also highlighted that the company was projected to experience significant growth, even doubling its net income over two years. It was important to point out that not every company and industry requires a large start up or operating location. Nike, for example, has a large distribution but with only small garage space.

Substantial and Irrevocable Investment

Further, we had to show that the investment made by Ms. Young was substantial and irrevocable due to USCIS fears that the investment is simply just a “risky undertaking”. In order to combat this, we broke down Ms. Young’s investment. We showed through bank statements and the purchase agreement that Ms. Young did indeed invest the sum and more through the purchase of administrative supplies, lease payments, and marketing expenses. One challenge for this case was the fact that much of the company investment went to the purchase of a vehicle, not generally something associated with a cleaning service. Our legal team argued that the vehicle was for company marketing and arranged for the company logo to be placed on it.

More than Marginal Investment

In addition to proving that the investment made was substantial, we were required to prove that the investment was more than marginal. Indeed, this was a challenge because in absolute terms, the investment of only $60,000 was relatively small. According to federal regulations however, an investment is considered to be more than marginal in the cases that it either provides income that exceeds what is necessary to support the individual and the family or that it would make a significant economic contribution in the future. A major aspect to solving this part of the case was developing the right business plan that detailed the company’s financial investments and potential. The business plan was written by our business team at Tsang and Associates. Despite a small investment, we fulfilled both of these considerations. First we showed using the Company Business Plan that revenues were projected to be extremely healthy within the next few years, demonstrating that the income provided would indeed be more than marginal. Second, we noted in the personnel plan section of the Business plan, that with Ms. Young’s investment, there would be a newly created several full-time and contracted jobs for U.S. Citizens or permanent residents and even more in the future.

Ability to Develop and Direct the Business Enterprise

We further needed to prove to USCIS satisfaction that Ms. Young was coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the enterprise, meaning that she would have to have a controlling interest in the company; she could not just be an ordinary skilled or unskilled worker. We portrayed this by first detailing Ms. Young’s extensive experiences and knowledge in finances, qualifying her to direct the business as majority owner of the company. We proved that her duties, which included managing the budgets, overseeing all aspects of the company, implementing effective cost saving methods, and composing and finalizing major company decisions were indeed intertwined with developing and directing the company. We had to carefully explain the background and training of both our client and her business partner. It was critical to explain that they had the kind of background that was up to the task of successfully running a business.

Intent to Depart

The last key we had to prove was that Ms. Young did not have any intention to overstay her visa. In order to tackle this, we established that she had extensive social and financial ties abroad in Taiwan, through her marriage certificate, divorce certificate, and personal bank statements. We also noted that she had significant property interests abroad as well, as evidenced by property ownership documents in Taiwan.

OUTCOME

Upon submitting and finishing the paperwork for the case, we then assisted Ms. Young in her interview process. When first confronted with the prospects of the interview, Ms. Young was extremely concerned. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to adequately answer the immigration officer’s questions. Indeed, her limited English skills were a major hurdle to overcome. We knew that our work with her did not end by getting the case approved, we wanted her to be successful in her interview by helping her practice answering questions in English. We were very thorough in assisting both parties in practicing for their interview, devising potential questions and assisting them in live practice sessions on several occasions. By the end of it, Ms. Young was confident in her ability to answer the officer’s questions. She went through the interview and was extremely thankful that it ran smoothly and she passed. She remarked afterward that she did not feel that she would have successfully navigated the interview were it not for our help. Our client’s E-2 visa was approved on the same day with no request for evidence. The Petitioner was tremendously happy and is now working in the US as a successful businesswoman.