I am a chartered surveyor who has been self employed for 10 years or so; I am also involved in a partnership which deals with all property related matters but it is only just over a year old and has a minimal turnover because of its age, probably around the £60k mark albeit there would be someone to remain in this country to continue the business if the L1 route is an option.

My partner in crime (lets call him Pete) has his own small construction company that has been running for years and again, could continue running in his absence.

Because of our respective skills we would like to set up a property management & maintenance company in florida by preferably buying a company and expanding it; we have been looking at one that currently has 23 houses on its books and is turning over $700 on average per property per month. We also know that we could add a further 10 almost immediately given that Pete already owns 2 houses out there and is therefore already being asked by other owners to take over the management and maintenance of their properties having got a whiff of his potential arrival!

We therefore feel that there would be sufficient income on a monthly basis to justify our partnership, obviously with a view to expanding considerably - ultimately up to around 85 houses in all.

So here come the questions:-

1. We both have a preference for the L1 route as we believe that it would be the route to go down to get a green card eventually. Would i qualify for an L1 or would my turnover here in the UK be too low?

2. Can we set up a business together via the L1 route? I know the L1 route relates to setting up a subsidiary but what if we decided on arrival to merge our subs and then buy another company to expand our operations. After all, it seems that the authorities are interested in growth, employment and the like.

3. If none of the above are possible, what is the best way for two UK based people, who want to become business partners, to buy a company in the USA? Would the E2 route be possible? I hear now that husbands or wives of E2 holders can also work but kids effectively have to leave the country at the age of 21 or get their own visas. I also hear all sorts of dire stories of people being prevented from re-entering the states having left for some reason even though they have a business up and running there. Is the E2 route really as risky as its reputation suggests?

4. If we were to go down the E2, is it completely impossible to obtain a green card via this visa or is there a change in status we could make to allow us to eventually obtain green cards?

Some advice would be greatly appreciated on the best way to achieve our objective; if anyone can also suggest an attorney, visa specialist etc that has experience of matters as outlined above that would be superb!!

Many thanks