
Ask HN: I have 150 USD in savings. How to to get a “proper” visa to the US? - newuserHN
I thought about E-2 Investor Visa and opening a company in the US. Does anyone has experience with this?
======
contingencies
I had a management visa linked to opening a company in the US in 2010. It
sucked, because the company was so successful we sold it (for a nice profit),
then I became aware that the US basically treated me as an illegal immigrant
10 days after my job finished. This is normal there - you have no stability in
the US as an immigrant worker unless you go the green card route, which was
never something I wanted to do personally (as an AU/DE/NZ citizen).

My first question would be _why_ do you want to go to the US as this is a more
important question for figuring out an appropriate strategy.

IMHO, honestly there's not much point in going to the US these days. You can
get superior access to capital in China, superior access to far cheaper
western education in Australia, New Zealand or Europe, and equivalent earning
potential jobs in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UK.

~~~
garethsprice
Not sure about the other places, but there's no comparison in tech salaries
between the US and UK. The UK greatly undervalues it's technical talent.

(source: [http://www.itworld.com/article/2947616/careers/developers-
ma...](http://www.itworld.com/article/2947616/careers/developers-make-a-lot-
more-in-the-us-than-in-the-uk.html))

~~~
contingencies
Not really... I made marginally more in the US than UK but it wasn't a great
deal. That said, I had a good gig in the UK. Worst case, it's not order-of-
magnitude different, and besides: proximity to Europe and a culture of
realistic holidaying makes up for it (and ... cheeky as it may be to say it
... co-working with people from around the world wins hands down on being
stuck in an office 355 days a year with Americans).

~~~
saghm
You have to work on most weekends and don't get any vacation days?

~~~
contingencies
In the US, 10 days/year is standard. Everywhere else is way more, save perhaps
Japan.

~~~
saghm
I'm in the US, we usually get weekends off as well, which comprise of almost
ten days off in a month, let alone a year.

------
codegeek
Is there a typo ? Did you mean 150 USD or 150 K/M USD ? 150 USD won't even buy
a regular visa.

------
garethsprice
Guessing you mean 150k. I came to the US on an E-2. The process is extremely
poorly documented and arbitrary - the decision is at the discretion of the
immigration clerk who reads your file on that day and the laws don't mention
any specific dollar amounts that are required. 150k is likely enough to get
you in. However, do your research and ask if that's really what you want to
do.

You are supposed to come over, invest your money, then leave the country and
wait for a decision (?!). However you can come over on a B-1 (business) visa
and change status to an E-2, but then you're landlocked and unable to leave
the US without losing your status and having to re-apply.

You have to renew every 3-5 years (again the duration is discretionary) and if
you're denied you have a matter of days to sell up and get out.

There is NO route to a green card or citizenship. You are a non-immigrant
alien. Every 3-5 years you have to hope you get renewed. You can be here for
decades and if your renewal doesn't go through, out you go.

The E-2 is a very poor visa program to come in on if you plan to build a life
here. If you don't really, really want to 1) invest everything you have in a
business and 2) do it in the US and 3) leave again once you're done, it's not
ideal.

Alternative routes I'd recommend looking into as a single individual with tech
experience are:

1) Get a job with a US company who will sponsor your visa to come over on an
H1-B, or, if you're a published expert in your field, an O-1. You don't have
to be as famous/expert as you think - I have friends on O visas who are Senior
tech people who have a few conference talks and published articles under their
belt who have qualified. Both have a route to green card/permanent residency.

2) Get a job with a multinational company who can transfer you under the above
visas. With companies look for larger orgs with in-house counsel who regularly
handle immigration matters. Small companies are not well equipped to handle
sponsorship and the delays/expenses may cause them to get cold feet at
inconvenient times.

3) Fall in love with a nice American and get married.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions! Happy to share my experience.
(Above isn't legal advice and is based on my own experience so may be wrong -
talk to a US immigration attorney with E-2 experience if you are serious!)

------
manav
What country are you coming from? You have to be on the treaty list.

I don't think the savings are enough, but it depends on the type of
business/where you will be located. If that is the extent of your savings you
have to consider living expenses/relocation in addition to the amount you will
put into the business as an investment.

I would also look into consulting with a laywer that has experience in this
field.

------
ShaneCurran
Do you mean $150k USD?

