How Investment Can Result In A Green Card



By Guest Contributor Sabine Weyergraf – www.weyergrafimmigration.com

 

Green Card sign with sky background

 

The goal for most immigrants is gaining permanent residency with a Green Card. If that is the case for you, the question is how to achieve this goal?

The most common answer is, by marriage. Marriage to a U.S. Citizen is certainly an option, as long as it is a real marriage. However, for a married couple who want to jointly immigrate to the United States, this is not an option. You might want to explore the alternatives. Generally, the alternatives are two non-immigrant visas, an L-1 Intercompany Transfer Visa or an E-2 Investor Visa, or the “purchase” of a green card by making the significant investment of $500,000 to $1 million in a company.

The L-1 Intercompany Transfer Visa permits the transfer of a Manager, which can certainly be the owner, of an overseas company to a subsidiary or affiliate in the United States. The requirements are: a) the transferred employee has been in a manager or executive position in the overseas company for at least one year, b) the U.S. company is a subsidiary or affiliate of the overseas company, and c) the U.S. company is a large enough operation that it will need to hire U.S. workers.

The overseas company and its U.S. affiliate or subsidiary do not have to be engaged in the same business activity and there is not a requirement for a set amount of money that must be invested.
However, the overseas company has to remain operational during the entire visa validity.
The L-1 visa for a start-up company will be issued for one year with the option of renewal for three years and then another three years. The renewal of an L-1 visa requires a significant number of employees.

For people who do not operate an overseas business or would like to receive more than an initial one year visa approval, the E-2 Investor Visa is a viable option. In general the E-2 Visa requires an investment of around $100,000 into the establishment of an U.S. company.

In order to apply for an E-2 Visa, the U.S. business investment needs to have already taken place. That means, either the purchase contract for an existing business with the purchase price in escrow or establishing your own start-up business. In the event you choose to purchase an existing business, it is important that the business already has employees. If a new business is established, the investor must show that the business has the potential to need U.S. workers and that the investor has already begun to look for qualified employees.

As previously said, the L-1 and E-2 are temporary non-immigrant visas. Then what is the process that moves you from temporary to permanent status.

If your U.S. company (affiliate or subsidiary) becomes well established, meaning it is profitable and providing employment for U.S. workers and your overseas company is also still operating, you can apply for a Multinational Manager Green Card. Your ability to apply is based on the fact that you are managing two companies in two different countries which both have employees.

For the Multinational Manager Green Card, it does not matter if you are in L-1 or E-2 status, it only matters that you are managing two different companies in two different countries, you worked for the overseas company for at least one year before coming to the United States and both companies have employees. The L-1 visa is not a necessity to receive a Multinational Manager Green Card.

However, if you closed your business overseas, you cannot apply for a Multinational Manager Green Card.

If you do not want to first apply for an L-1 or E-2 and prefer to go straight for the permanent residency, then you can “purchase” a green card. This is the Eb-5 program. This requires the investment of $500,000 to $1 Million either in the establishment of your own U.S. company or the investment in a Regional Center. $500,000 is sufficient if you invest in a designated rural or high unemployment area; investing in any other location will require an investment of $1 Million.

A Regional Center is basically an administration company that collects money from foreign investors and then invests it in designated projects, such as the build out of an airport, a solar field, housing or farms.

If you would like to invest in your own company, then you will need 1 Million Dollars readily available as the investment must be made in full. Income or expenses of an existing U.S. business cannot be used to prove the investment of 1 Million Dollars. After this investment is done, you receive a conditional residency for two years. Within these two years either your project at the regional center or your own company has to create ten full-time jobs. If you can show these jobs, then you will receive your permanent residency.

 

 

Heandshot_Sabine_WeyergrafLogo_Weyergraf_page_001

Sabine Weyergraf is founding partner and New York licensed attorney practicing solely immigration law with
Weyergraf Immigration, PA in Sarasota, Florida.
Contact: 941-706-4102, sabine@weyergrafimmigration.com

This article is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com


Hiring Winners



By Guest Contributor Jessica Trippler – www.bpinsights.com

 

Cross the line

 

When I discuss employee performance with business owners and managers, they often times have very similar concerns and questions;

 

  • I have one sales person that isn’t selling as much as the others, I don’t understand why.
  • I hired a great person as a technician, why is their performance is lacking?
  • I hired someone with lots of experience but why they aren’t doing the job I need done?

 

These are all very good questions and valid concerns that all businesses struggle with at some point. They all want employees that perform a job to their standards. They want to save on the costs associated with employee turnovers and the time and energy it takes to do the hiring and training.

 

Ultimately, they want their employees to service their customers, every time, the way they would.

 

I believe the real question becomes “Did you hire the right person for the right job?”

 

Resumes and interviews are the most common tools used in the hiring process. But are they enough? Just because someone has experience in a certain industry or does well on an interview because we approve of their responses to our questions; it is not enough information to determine how someone is going to perform a particular job.

 

Did you know that only 20% of employees studied over a 16-year period were in a job that “fit” with their talents? It is important to recognize that different jobs require a different set of behaviors and values than other jobs. For example, the behaviors and values required to perform an accounting job are much different than the behaviors and values needed to perform a sales job. When looking to hire an accountant, you may search for someone who has experience, extensive attention to detail and someone who enjoys working with numbers. When hiring a sales person, you may search for someone who has an “outgoing” personality and a “can do” attitude. So how do we find the right person for the right job?

 

To answer this question, my business partner, Mark Welker, and I, use a process called Hiring Winners. This process begins with determining the behaviors and values needed to produce the key results for a certain job. Then, we assess the candidate for the job using a Disc and Motivators Assessment. This profile assessment is so important because helps to determine if that person’s behaviors and values match the jobs’ requirements. If we feel the applicant and the job may be a match, we can then move onto the next step which is our Hiring Winners Interview Process. This process includes twelve categories of hand selected questions used to further access how the person will perform the job. We have experienced a much higher employee retention rate, employee and employer satisfaction, and a higher productivity rate with all of the businesses we work with, since implementing our Hiring Winners process. It has become our proven method for hiring the right person for the right job, the first time and every time.

 

Please request a complimentary DISC and Motivators Assessment at
http://www.businessperformanceinsights.com/contact-1.html

 

 

Jessica TripplerBusiness Perfomance Insights

 

Business Performance Insights
4575 Via Royale
Suite 218
Ft. Myers, FL 33919
www.bpinsights.com
jessica@bpinsights.com
201.563.2243
mark@bpinsights.com
239.872.4555

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com

 


VIDEO: 3 Question Goal Reality Check



By Guest Contributor Ron Frost – www.PostitiveMomentumCoach.com

 

 

These are 3 very important questions to ask yourself in regards to your dreams or goals. For more information visit www.positivemomentumcoach.com or www.ronaldfrost.com.

 

 

ron frost

Ron Frost
Motivational Speaker | Life Coach | Business Coach
www.PositiveMomentumCoach.com
239-265-4380

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com

 

 

 


Who Is Going To Buy My Business?



keys in the keyhole

 

If you are considering selling your business, you may have asked this question – who is going to buy my business?

 

This question may be important to you for a myriad of reasons. For most small business owners, their business is a very large part of their life, sometimes even an extension of their life. They have spent a great deal of money, countless hours and an enormous amount of energy making the business what it is today. To personally invest so much into something without creating an emotional attachment would be nearly impossible.

 

This emotional attachment to your business is a good thing, it keeps you personally invested in the success and future of something you’ve worked so hard to build. It gets you out of bed every morning and helps you endure the long hours that are sometimes necessary.

 

This strong emotional attachment can become a problem, however, when the time comes to put your business up for sale. Your business is your baby, and you don’t want anyone who isn’t up to your version of par to take over the keys.

 

So, you ask yourself “who is going to buy my business?”

The answer is a simple one. Whoever has enough money.

 

This simple answer can cause havoc for the heartstrings of a seller because it means that you may need to hand over your business to someone you don’t necessarily like if you truly want to sell.

 

How do you get past your emotions and allow this to happen?

 

Remember why you are selling in the first place. No one can be at the helm of their business forever. By selling instead of closing the doors you are getting a financial return on all the investment of time, energy and money – and that financial investment can give you freedom to start a new chapter of your life.

 

Remember that once the keys have changed hands, it isn’t your business anymore. Most entrepreneurs are control freaks by nature – you have to be to keep a small business running. That control can’t carry over, however, to the new ownership. Once they write you a check that business now belongs to them. Considering this emotional switch beforehand will help you when the time comes to sit down at a closing table.

 

Remember that everyone’s money has the same value. You may not be madly in love with the person who would like to buy your business, but willing buyers shouldn’t be turned away because your personalities don’t mesh. All that matters is they want to write you a very big check and are willing to take over ownership of your business.

 

If you want a great return on all of your investment in your business – put your emotions to the side and instead focus on your new future after the business sale.

 

Are you considering selling your business but are worried about who might take over? Do you have questions about what kind of return you could get on your business? Please feel free to leave us any questions or comments here, and we will be happy to help.

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com


Why The Latest BizBuySell Report Is Good News For Both Business Buyers And Sellers



Overall, small business indicators continue to point toward a healthy market for buying and selling

-Bob House, Group GM of BizBuySell.com andBizQuest.com

 

The latest BizBuySell Insight Report covering the final quarter of 2015 is out, and it has great news for both buyers and sellers.

 

For sellers, the news continues to be good. Median sale price increased 7.6% over the last year, and the number of closed transactions remains high.

If you are a buyer, then the strength of small businesses in the market means good things for your future purchase. Median revenue and median cash flow of sold businesses remained strong and was even up in the last quarter of 2015.

While many are looking at 2015 and wondering where the much anticipated wave of baby boomer sellers are, the numbers indicate that baby boomer sellers continue to stay on as owners and are retiring later than the business owners of past generations. Even without the huge wave of baby boomer sellers last year, the market is starting to level out. This leveling out of the market from a seller’s market toward a buyer’s market is good for both sides of the transaction – as it means sale prices remain high and businesses are healthy overall.

 

Want to read more of the BizBuySell Insight Report? Click here.

 

Want to read more analysis? Check out this article from Inc.com.

http://www.inc.com/bob-house/why-small-business-sales-stabilized-in-2015-and-how-2016-could-change-that.html

 

Do you have questions about what the latest industry numbers mean for your business and the future of a potential sale? Want to know what the businesses you are interested in buying look like compared to the same time last year? Ask us! Please leave any questions or comments here and we will be happy to help!

 

 

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com

 



Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

5111-E Ocean Blvd
Siesta Key, FL 34242

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com

9040 Town Center Parkway
Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202




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