Successful business headquarters relocation for an E-2 business! We recently had an E-2 Approved for headquarters relocation. The E-2 business relocated its offices from Florida to a different state in conjunction with a corporate conversion. In this E-2 case, the E-2 business requested approval of the changes on behalf of the investor and employee from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The USCIS approved the case without a Request for Further Evidence (RFE). The overall processing time was 4 days with premium processing.
Occasionally, E-2 businesses choose to relocate their headquarters from one state to another for a variety of reasons including ease of doing business, clients, availability of talented workforce to recruit from, taxes, state and local government incentives, favorable laws and regulations, reduced regulatory burdens and competition, access to modern infrastructure and ready sites and others.
Of course, a decision to relocate depends primarily on the industry the E-2 business operates in. Workforce, access to warehouse, structural amenities and infrastructure are important to retail and eCommerce companies from furniture to food but less important to consulting businesses. For consulting businesses, talented workforce, taxes and reduced regulatory burdens are important. Retails stores with a physical location consider customers and clients, as well as your employees, when deciding to relocate.
The regulations require that whenever there is a substantive change in the terms and conditions of the E-2 status, the investor or employee must obtain approval. Generally, in the context of E-2 visa, moving the headquarters from one location to another in the same city or state is not considered a substantive change and does not require an approval. However, an E-2 business relocating to a completely different state or even other part of the United States should obtain approval of the change.
Whether or not the move is viewed as a substantive or non-substantive change to the terms and conditions of the E-2 visa, obtaining an approval to move the business across the country is not only important for staying compliant with the E-2 visa regulations, but is also relevant for the E-2 visa renewal. To seek approval for relocating the E-2 business, you can contact the the U.S. Consulate that issued the E-2 visa or submit an amended I-129 application with USCIS.
The E-2 Investor Visa is a nonimmigrant visa for individuals who make an investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States. The E-2 Investor Visa allows a national of a treaty country to temporary come to the United States together with their spouses and children to live and work. E-2 Investor Visa allows the Investor or Entrepreneur and their spouse and children to travel outside of the United States and re-enter.
Contact us, your experienced Miami immigration lawyers in Florida, USA to schedule an appointment for your immigration case and find out more about the E-2 Investor Visa and other visa options for you from our best E2 Visa Lawyers.
Malescu Law P.A. – Business & Immigration Lawyers
