E2 – Patricia Dewar

E2 Visa Client Patricia is now living her American dream - Now it's your turn!

It’s Never Too Late to Live Your Dream

Patricia should be an inspiration to many people contemplating relocating to the US. In a nutshell, when Patrica first approached us to help her with her immigration needs, she was full of enthusiasm to start her own business. I never asked her age simply because she sounded like any other person wanting to start a business in the US. It was not until much later in the process that I noticed from documentation that Patricia was a senior citizen. I was so surprised that I had to quickly double-check the E2 regulations to remind myself as to whether or not there were age restrictions!

Patricia was born in Ramsgate, England. After completing school in Sunderland in 1955 she was employed as a student nurse at St Mary’s Hospital in Northumberland. From 1971 – 1996 she worked in the recruitment industry for City Centre Staff Bureau Ltd in London. Then she worked for Alfred Marks Recruitment before moving to Spain where she became the owner of a company which performed non-surgical face-lifts. Not being content living in Spain she contacted the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram in the hope for help to re-locate to the USA. We showed her the E2 pathway and together with her persistence and outlook on life and our ability to handle the toughest immigration cases, we got her to the finish line.

The Villages in Florida is a famous retirement community and the services that Patricia’s company provides to this community is perfect.  I would not say that putting her case together was easy, in fact it was very challenging primarily because the amount of total investment including the equipment was well under $100K, but what made her case stand out was the quality of her E2 Business Plan, her prior experience in this field and what her product was. Everything made sense, in that the business model was well thought out. Then we had to make sure that the case was well presented to inspire enough confidence in the Embassy official that this was a deserving case.

In addition to requiring a substantial investment, the E2 visa also requires that over time you actually create jobs. For start up businesses you are given a number of years to create jobs, but you really have to show how this will be possible in the business plan.

In a recent telephone interview with Patricia, I asked her for some words of wisdom to share with clients who seemingly want to make that move, but who tend to get cold feet closer to the commitment. She replied in her usual no-nonsense manner, “I am whatever age I am. I know I don’t have as many options as I once had, so this was the best move I could have made. It was either remaining in Europe (a place that I no longer recognized as home) or move somewhere that offered me warmth on so many different levels. If people out there don’t have the “balls” to make the move, then personally speaking, I have no time for them. We only get one chance at life and I am determined to live mine. I know at times handling my case wasn’t easy but I had no doubts that we would achieve our goal..and we did, so thank you.”

As with many of our clients we do remain in contact, and Patricia, (now in her 70’s), continues to do very well having opened her second store and looking to invest in higher tech equipment to keep up with the times. Patricia has no shortage of customers looking for American beauty. I’m so proud of her because she looks like she is in her forties and has more energy and drive than most who are.  Whatever it is with Patricia, it’s certainly not skin deep, she has a fountain of youth springing up inside her; she has a real zest for life.

So having read Patricia’s story, what’s your excuse? If you have a mind to live your life in the US and can’t find an employer to sponsor you for say a H-1B visa, or you don’t have any family members to sponsor you and you don’t feel like going to college on an F1 student visa, well whatever the reason is, the E2 visa maybe a good fit.

Why not start by completing our short consultation questionnaire so we can set up a free consultation. We’ll look at all the possible visa options and discuss what the best immigration pathway is for you. As long as we can get you here living your American dream that’s what counts. I look forward to talking with you soon.

 E2 Success Stories
Patricia – Beauty Store
Ron and Helen – Opticians

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US Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram
Chris M. Ingram LL.M., ESQ – Immigration Attorney
Admitted in New York.
Practice Specializing in US Immigration Law
520 Broadway, Suite 350,
Santa Monica,
California 90401
Tel: 310 496 4292

Everyday the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram provides a comprehensive range of US Immigration expertise. We also provide a free consultation for our prospective clients.

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