View Full Version : pre approved in Texas?
HI
wondered if anyone has heard of this, and has any advice on the subject.
We have been living in Orlando for 7 months on a B1/B2 visa and are in the process of buying a business, we have been told to apply for our E2 visa through Texas, who will pre approve it till we go back to London
to get the visa in our passports. Our worry is we buy the business and dont get the visa in London, we have never heard of anyone else doing this and would like to hear of anyone who has! Would appreciate any advice on this.
Thanks
Haven't you overstayed your visa as this is for 6 months and you've been there 7 months?
I understood that all E2 visa applications had to go through the country of origin (ie London if you're British) but maybe I got that wrong?
Please do not say that you have exceeded your stay beyond the date of your I-94
Blott is correct ..you should be going thru London..
unless you are already there under an existing visa
such as an H-1B or similar.. and you are changing status
Texas is a USCIS office.. the USCIS do not issue visas.
nor can they pre-approve a visa .. All visa decision are made by the State Dept (embassy)
The source of your information would be??
As Ray says, you can change status in Texas but only London can issue you a visa. You can extend a B1/B2 for a further period beyond the initial 6 months and we all hope you have done that as you are beyond the limit of the original right to remain. Buyimg a business without a visa is inadvisable in the extreme, there are some huge processing delays for E2s and some people who have done this are coming really unstuck.
Thanks for you replys,
Yes we have extended our B1/B2, and understand that we can change the status to E2 whilst still in the US, although need to return to UK for the visa. We just wondered if anyone else had taken this route and had any problems!
You could try mrsbabypowder off here, I think she came over on B and changed to E as far as I remember.
joanneoliver
23-07-2005, 16:42
Hi Grahame,
We know a couple who, very recently, have changed from a B to E2 visa.
They did do this by going through Texas in that that's where the paperwork is sent and they are now living in FL legally on their E2.
As I understand it however (from them), when they next go to the UK they must go via the US embassy in London when returning to the US to have the "actual E2" put in their passport.
If you're interested in more details just let me know as we are about to start working with the immigration attorney that they used so that we can do the same thing.
BTW, they also paid 1000USD for the speedy process which meant that everything was sorted inside two weeks so they were very happy indeed.
Stuart
Correct, when you change status they give you a I-94 right to remain form at the bottom of the approval notice. You can stay and work till the end of that but cannot leave the country without going back to the US embassy for interview and stamp. The wait for an interview is currently 40 days. Gray already has a B2. Can I point out to anyone who is thinking of applying for E2 and now thinks this way is easier that it isnt easy to get a B2 and takes time also.