The Best Business to Buy In Florida?

[poopppy]

Hi,
Can anyone tell me which is the best kind od business to buy in central Florida that would provide the E2 visa? The reason I ask this is because there already seems to be a mass of fast food resturants and also there are a lot of people now with villas which they rent out so I'm guessing that a small motel wouldnt be that good an investment as say it would have been 10 years ago. Any thoughts are very much appreciated.

[keith_harrison]

Welcome to the forum.

You will find some great topics on this site, it is very informitive and gives good feedback. Hope you get some answers in what your looking for? Good luck in your business adventure

Regards

The Harrison Family

[florida4sun]

It does not matter what type it is provided it has proven record. Your problem will be buying one that can support you. Of course most corps will show a loss and you need one that is showing a profit.
Look very closely at any corp that is showing a profit as this is very poor accounting.
It is not easy to get here and once you do you will need loads more money than you think to get started. Health care is extremely expensive for good coverage. Also if you are taking a business with 4 or more employees you need workers comp, this is so expensive and difficult to get that it is putting some small businesses out of business.
I always err on the negative side of being here, this is so it is not a shock to people. We love living here but it is not an easy road.

quote:Originally posted by poopppy

Hi,
Can anyone tell me which is the best kind od business to buy in central Florida that would provide the E2 visa? The reason I ask this is because there already seems to be a mass of fast food resturants and also there are a lot of people now with villas which they rent out so I'm guessing that a small motel wouldnt be that good an investment as say it would have been 10 years ago. Any thoughts are very much appreciated.

[esprit]

There is no best business. What do you want to do? Remember E2 ties you to that business for life. So think do I want to do this business for the rest of my life. Dont buy something just to get a visa or you will end up stuck with it. A modest income doesnt suffice. You need to show immigration that the business makes at least $60,000 in owner benefit. Popular businesses are villa management ( hard to get through now as a bit too popular with Brits), pool care, lawn care and cleaning, also convenience stores and dry cleaners. If you do something in the UK remotely transferable, stick to what you know.
Good business are scarce. There is a lot of overpriced dross out there which would be worth half the selling price if it was being marketed to an American or was in a different area of the US. I have heard of businesses being set up specifically to sell to some unsuspecting Brit visa applicant. So be very careful and get a good accountant to look at the books. And come over and shadow the owner for a few days and see what he does and decide if that is what you want to do.
My visa attorney would not put any businesses without proper tax returns showing a profit to the embassy, Martin.
Other than that, I agree totally with what you say. Workers comp really hit us hard. The first few months here can be very difficult, in a new country with a new business often in a field you know nothing about and with no experience at handling staff. We are just beginning to settle down after 5 months. It isnt all plain sailing though. But the sun shining in November is lovely!

[poopppy]

Thanks for your replies they are very much appreciated. I do have my own business her in the U.K. I am in mail order/direct mail which i operate from an office at home and this has given us a very good living for the past 7 years or so, but it is a business that is aimed directly at the U.K market and not the US market, although I could run my business from anywhere in the world without much f a problem, but would this business allow me the E2 visa if i were to try and move over to the US?

[Carla]

Why not try for an L1 visa and open a branch of your current business in Orlando. You cn then transfer employees (ie. yourselves) across to your US branch. I know a couple of people who have done this. You have to keep the UK business going too.

[poopppy]

Thanks Carla.
That was going to be my next question. But will there be a problem with the L1 visa due to the fact that my business is quite small and there is only two other employees other than myself in my bsuiness and one of those is my wife whose a partner in the business with me?

[Carla]

Get yourself a good immigration lawyer, as he/she is probably the best person to answer this for you. I know of two couples who have done this and they only had small businesses to start with and only a couple of employees. If you both came over to Florida, you would probably have to leave at least two people in charge back at the UK end to keep that running. However you have to keep the UK end running otherwise you would be breaking the requirements of an L1 visa and could be deported.

I think that the UK business must have been running for a minimum of 1 year with employees, so you qualify on those grounds.

[esprit]

They have tightened up considerably in L1 in the past year. Before then, pratcially any business would qualify. Now it needs to be substantial ( our attorney told us a service industry turning over £80,000 pa , almost all of it profit, was no use for L1) Also they like to see real employees back in the UK not fsmily members. People are getting L1 for a year currently and then have to renew. On renewal, you need to show that both your UK and your US business are successfuly trading. E2 got me 5 years before renewal. But the big advantage of L1 is it does lead to green card wheras with E2 it is only can and with difficulty.
There is an attorney called Matt Selby in Fort Lauderdale good on L1. Dont have his address off hand, but he should come up in searches,

[poopppy]

Reading what you've all had to say, it looks as though my best bet is going to be buying a Florida based business and getting the E2 visa as my small home based UK business turned over £120,000 last year and I only have my wife and one other lady that works in the business so I think I'll probably get knocked back with my L1 application by the sound of things as it sounds like my UK business will be too small to allow me the L1 visa.
One other question - If i busy a business and get my E2 visa, will i also be able to run my UK business at the same time or does all of my income need to come from my Florida based business?