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Today My US Investor Visa Application Was Denied

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Re: Today My US Investor Visa Application Was Denied

#11
post #6

what's stopping you from doing a web(I'm guessing) startup outside of United States?

You don't say where you came to Singapore from. I'm guessing that it took you and your family sacrifices to put together $65,000. In a place like Silicon Valley, such a small amount of money (by USA standards) would not last long. If you were to go to a more affordable part of the USA then you might as well be working from where you are now. If your ideas are good, then register a .com domain name, and market it solidly. At the very least, your burn rate will be much lower and you will have more time to make your vision a success.

Re: Today My US Investor Visa Application Was Denied

#12
post #8

Why did it cost $10,000?

Lawyers just love immigration law. They can charge like wounded bulls for what you can essentially do for your self. One friend spent $30,000 for a business visa app and failed to get it. Another just went ahead by himself and successfully got it. His costs, only filing fees and a bit of form filling, photocopying, printing.

Re: Today My US Investor Visa Application Was Denied

#13

This is another sad example of the US's twisted immigration policy. Brilliant entrepreneurs, scientists, and academics want to come in legally and are rejected, while thousands of others come in illegally.

First, we don't know what his idea was. Obviously he believes in it to have dropped so much cash on it already, but there are all sorts of things that people believe in (FSM FTW). That's not to slight his concept, since we haven't seen it, what's the point in passing judgement.

And actually, your point illustrates quite effectively why there is illegal immigration. If the system is broken, people will try to work around it, rather than through it. Bureaucracy for the lose.

Re: Today My US Investor Visa Application Was Denied

#15
post #5

I feel for you -- I live in Japan and visa issues are near and dear to my heart. If it makes you feel any better, you can have a successful business without being in the US, and should you later want to move the startup to the US having a successful business and all the fixings (such as a good immigration lawyer) will make the process quite a bit easier than it is when you're "just somebody with a gleam in his eye".…

I'm sure other Visas can be tough, but I got my spouse visa in Japan in a few weeks from the time I started. A couple simple forms, less than $100 in fees, and a couple trips to the immigration office.

The US is ~$1,400, 6 months, multiple appointments, and a stack of paperwork for the same thing. Really pathetic. There's no excuse (no, not even volume).

Re: Today My US Investor Visa Application Was Denied

#16

This is another sad example of the US's twisted immigration policy. Brilliant entrepreneurs, scientists, and academics want to come in legally and are rejected, while thousands of others come in illegally.

Not really. There are plenty of examples of that, but this is an example of someone applying for a special kind of visa that they were obviously not qualified for and then not getting it. I'm sorry for them on a personal level, but at an institutional level, the system worked just fine.

Re: Today My US Investor Visa Application Was Denied

#18
post #7

I'm wondering why you're surprised, or if I'm reading the wrong material. The first link on Google is to a site that says only 3000 investment visas are set aside each year, to investors of $500,000-$1,000,000 and(/or) employers that will be create 10 full time jobs in the US.

I think there's a distinction between EB-4 Investor Green Card visa and E-2 treaty investor visa. For EB-4, it takes minimum $1 million and pledge to create 10 jobs or $500k in high unemployed region and 10 jobs. For E-2 visa it usually requires $50k to $100k. Of course $200k is a better amount for immigration authority to consider substantial and there is no quota for visa.
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