which route is appropriate for my friends?

[Dbkrantz 16]

Hi,

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post something.

I am writing on behalf of my friends who would like to open a restaurant in the US. What's the best way for them to do this?

They are both French. He is a sous-chef for a Four Seasons George V hotel in Paris. He has worked for some of the best palaces here. He is very talented.

She is very educated (Masters degree) and works in PR. They have been dating for 8 years now so getting married is an option.

He could get transferred to a job in the US as a chef without a doubt, but how would it work for his girlfriend? If they get married, can she come over and get a green card? And, his ultimate goal is to open his own restaurant. Can he get sponsored and leave the sponsor while still remaining in the US or is the visa tied to the work place?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated. They are great people and hard working.

Thanks,

Deborah

[canadian_wife 1,822]

If he gets transferred then the visa is tied to the workplace, I believe it would be an L visa and the wife (no girlfriend derivative visas) would be granted a visa as well.

They are a long way from a green card without a current qualifying relative in the US

good luck

[Dbkrantz 16]

Doing some research, I found that the E-2 visa would be most appropriate in their case. It seems...

But, it's a non-immigrant visa showing the intent to go back home once the business is closed. How can you get permanent residency from a non-immigrant visa?

[lost_at_sea 995]

All work visas kind have the assumption that they're temporary. And that's how you have to treat them, at least at first.

It takes someone working on a suitable work visa in the US many years before they're eligible to go for a GC, and even then that's through their employer agreeing to sponsor one.

Non-immigrant (work) visas are exactly that - non-immigrant.

Green card categories: http://www.uscis.gov/greencard

I know some folks on here have recommended the investment visa - I think that means you are going to pump a certain amount of money into the US/assure X jobs, and that gets an I.mediate GC.

My friend came to the US as an alien of extraordinary ability, and that got him a GC (E11 - right pain, had to prove he'd published books, was worth $$$).

Edited November 4, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[lost_at_sea 995]

Although, I was just reading the GC through a job stuff from the link above, and it doesn't say much about how long someone has to wait before their employer petitions for a GC. I had only thought it was years because that's the experience of my friends in the US following that path. They may have to do some investigation to see exactly how long it would take them.

Edited November 4, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[Dbkrantz 16]

Although, I was just reading the GC through a job stuff from the link above, and it doesn't say much about how long someone has to wait before their employer petitions for a GC. I had only thought it was years because that's the experience of my friends in the US following that path. They may have to do some investigation to see exactly how long it would take them.

For him, I was thinking about an E-2 visa. So he could not be sponsored by the employer for a green card...

The investment visa is not do-able though because you need to invest a LOT of money and employ at least 10 people I think. That being said, he wants to open a small French restaurant so that is complicated in that sense...

And I don't know if he would qualify for extraordinary visa in the sense that he is just a really good chef, but I don't think that counts as extraordinary... As much as I would like it to be!