Visas

The regulations for entry to the USA are wide and complex and beyond our expertise. We offer this information as a general guide only, and we would advise you to seek professional help.

The following information provides advice to those firstly seeking to holiday in America and secondly those looking to re-locate there.

Holidaying in America

The US operates a Visa Waiver Programme (VWP), available to most British Citizen passport holders travelling on business, pleasure or transit, from where they normally reside and who intend to stay in the U.S. for less than 90 days. For stays longer than 90 days a visa will be required. Details can be obtained from: www.ukps.gov.uk or www.usembassy.org.uk

You will also be required to provide at check in, specific address details for where you intend to stay for your first night in the United States and all non-U.S. citizens will be required upon entry to complete an I-94W form. It would be advisable to have to hand full address details of where you are staying in the USA.

Relocating to Florida

If you have thought of selling up and starting all over again in the warm and laid back lifestyle of Florida, you are certainly not alone. There are thousands of British families that have done so and now call Florida home.

We can only give you a basic guideline into how you can achieve this and you should seek professional advice, if you are intending to go down this route.

Floridays4U Ltd will be able to put you in touch with a reputable Business Broker in the United States and refer you on to an Immigration Lawyer who will be able to explain the process and costs to you more fully.

A brief summary of some of the most probable visas available

L-1- Intra Company transfer

Intended to accommodate the intra company transfer of a managerial/executive employee from an overseas company to a United States affiliated company.

Intended to accommodate the intra company transfer of an employee possessing specialised knowledge from an overseas company to a United States affiliated company.

The US company must be affiliated to the UK company through ownership.
You must have worked in a UK company as a manager or executive for at least one year in the last three and have a similar position in the US Company.
The US Company must have already been established or purchased.
The UK Company must continue to operate in your absence.

E-2 Treaty investor

This is made available to people wishing to invest in business in the United States and live and work there in order to develop and direct the business operation set up by their investment. Normally a minimum investment of $100,000 is required, but it may be possible with less, although usually the larger the investment the stronger the case.
This investment must be proved to show that the company will support the applicant; the employees stated and be both an asset to the US economy and its workforce.
It can apply equally to a start up business or the purchase of a business but as a rule the start up business is harder to get approved.

Green Card permanent residency

An Alien Registration Card that is the symbol of permanent resident status. It is available to beneficiaries who have demonstrated significant contributions to the economy of the United States.
Many of the requirements are similar to the L1 visa. You must demonstrate that both the UK and the US businesses are reasonably substantial.
It would be hard to get an application approved where either business is small.

Do you qualify for a visa?

If you can answer 'yes' to any of the following questions, you may be able to qualify for a visa:

Do you own a business or have a share of a business?
Has that business been in existence for more than a year?
Do you have in excess of $100,000 to invest in an existing business or a start up business?
Do you have any secondary income e.g. pension/rental property etc?
Are you working in a managerial/executive position for a company, and have been continuously employed for 12 months in the last three years.

Remember each visa application is judged on its own unique characteristics. If you wish to go down this road we would again remind you that you contact both a reputable Business Broker and an Immigration Lawyer.

If it is your dream to move to the USA do not give up, it is more than achievable and many have done so before you.