Moving to the United States

Choose the life, then the immigration route

The intended work, business ownership, nationality, family and time horizon influence which route may fit. A visa allowing investment-related work is different from permanent residence. Some routes require an existing overseas company; others turn on employment, family or investment.

E-2 and EB-5 merit comparison only after understanding whether you want an operating business, permanent relocation or something else. Their capital requirements, family treatment and long-term consequences differ.

Review wealth before arrival

Inventory foreign companies, funds, trusts, pensions, insurance and unrealised gains before the planned move. U.S. classifications and reporting can differ sharply from the home-country treatment. What was a routine domestic investment can become a complicated foreign holding after arrival.

Establish the likely residence start date using the relevant tests. Track travel and consider whether a green card changes the answer even when little time is spent in the country. Federal tax and state domicile should be planned together.

Coordinate the process

• Assess the immigration route and whether the proposed work is permitted.
• Complete pre-arrival ownership, asset and reporting reviews.
• Prepare identity, family and route-specific financial or employment evidence.
• Budget government fees separately from investment capital and professional work.
• Plan housing, insurance, schools, payroll, banking and business registrations.
• Record what needs to happen before arrival and what must wait for approval or admission.

Timing is a chain of dependencies

Petition processing, visa availability, consular appointments, admission and residence documentation are separate stages. A quoted petition estimate is not the date a family can safely assume it will be settled.

We can help organise the international picture and implementation work so the immigration plan does not collide with a tax or business deadline. Before committing capital, understand both the commercial risk and the immigration conditions; approval of an investment programme is not a guarantee of investment performance.

Prepare an entity and investment inventory before arrival

List every company, partnership, trust, investment fund, retirement plan and account in which the arriving family has an interest. US tax classification may differ from the home-country treatment. A foreign company can create controlled-foreign-corporation reporting and inclusions; a foreign pooled investment can require a different analysis from a direct shareholding.

Do not transfer or distribute assets solely because a generic pre-immigration checklist suggests it. A dividend, sale or trust distribution can trigger tax in the existing country. The plan needs the expected US residence date, the old country’s exit rules and the consequences of each proposed transaction.

Immigration status and tax residence can begin on different logic

The green-card and substantial-presence rules are tax tests. The latter generally requires at least thirty-one days in the current year and a weighted total of 183 days using all current-year days, one-third of the preceding year and one-sixth of the second preceding year, subject to exclusions and exceptions.

A person admitted in E-2 status can become US tax resident without holding a green card. Conversely, an immigration approval that has not yet led to the relevant admission or residence event needs its own timing analysis. Record each family member’s travel rather than treat the household as a single day count.

Build the first-year compliance calendar

Identify whether the year is resident, nonresident or dual-status, which foreign information reports apply and how foreign tax credits will be substantiated. Confirm employment or business registration, state exposure and the treatment of retirement and investment income.

Before opening accounts or moving assets, establish the correct tax forms and beneficial-owner information. Cross-border financial institutions may restrict particular products after a US move. The practical objective is to have the classifications, valuations and responsible preparers settled before the first US return is due.