you (and the family) should be able to step out to the bahamas for a weekend when your 6 months are up. but yes this is a pain
Rudolf, I am from Europe and I have been in the US for more than 4 years, mainly in California. If I were you, I would drive troughtout the West Coast and choose a location to settle down. California, and I think the rest of the West Coast such as Oregon and Washington, offer good governement and public servivces, very developed economies, cultural diverity, space, respect for nature and good weather. This combination is hard to beat. Consider also Canada and Australia. Their economies are doing great and the quality of living there is good too. It seems that they are what the West Coast would be if it were independent from the rest of the US.
IN St. Pauli kann man nicht leben, höchstens AUF St. Pauli Nein, ich komme hierher: http://213.168.99.186/lossmersinge/mitstimmen/audio/wma_asx/id4.asx My fellow Americans, don't klick the link mentioned above. I doubt you will get the message ...
I spent a couple of years in the US and thoroughly explored the options to get permanent residence. As far as I remember, the B visa (visitors) is renewable once (now I don't know if it's one time after the initial paper you get or once in a lifetime). You need that visa(not a waiver) to adjust your status. As for the investor status and/or entrepreneur status, again to the best of my knowledge, you will need to present a business plan to the INS and show that you are going to employ a substantial number of people and you HAVE to be a managing director not just an investor(otherwise you could just take an interest in any US company, too easy). There is no real minimum investment but in general we are talking about several million dollars, however they will consider sub $1M business plan, again it depends on the number of people you will employ, benefits to the community I guess etc. My guess is that unfortunately it would be difficult to obtain such visa if your business is trading your own account, you'd have to set up a hedge fund with employees etc. It's pretty difficult to get into the US, and after 9/11 everything has become more difficult for immigrants.
A short trip twice a year to the Bahamas would be great. I even could plan for a trip to Cuba. At least I will get there some very fresh Cohibas and Montecristos. Chances are, the immigration officer would not be overjoyed by my regular trips to Cuba. And I guess he/she would not be impressed by Cuban Cigars in any way. Unfortunately this is not done with some nice trips across the border. I know that a lot of older Germans do this in Florida. But under the B1/B2 Visa my kids need their I-20 every time they re-enter the States. The immigration officer would not let them in without. This I-20 is the problem. I consulted an immigration lawyer and followed his advice to apply for the B1/B2. Hard luck. The I-20 is a tough problem now, because this was the favorite path for the terrorists to enter the US...
The German constitution violates basic human rights as it is. There is no freedom of speech. You go to prison for several years for asking the question whether or not reports about WWII concentration camps are accurate. The reason why Germans don't get political asylum is that the US is run by hypocrites. I've said it before, I will say it again: It's not we the people, it's we the citizens, always has been. It's just that "citizen" has changed from "white male land owner" to "whatever trash happens to be born within the borders or manages to lie and cheat its way in". For illustrative examples of the aforementioned hypocrisy look at what happened to the suspected Al Qaeda in Guantanamo Bay. Why are they not held on US soil? I guess you don't need me to spell out the details. Or just think about this: If we have a department of defense, why do we need a department of homeland security? And how come we don't have a department of war now that we are expanding our empire through military invasion of foreign countries? It's true, Europe is totally f'd up, but America isn't far behind. I agree with the other poster that the West Coast, especially SoCal is not quite as run-down as the rest of the country (yet), but if you are a freedom-loving, entrepreneurial individual looking for a new residence, it might be best to look at opportunities in Asia.
That´s the problem, kicking. I don't want to employ a bunch of people. Have been there, done this before. Investor Visa is a simple task (beside the cash needed). I would have to invest 1 Million and employ 10 people. If I would invest in rural areas 500k will be fine. Does anyone know if Naples, FL would qualify as rural area? I mailed my lawyer yesterday. Thought of setting up an investment company or hedge fund. Working with 10 self-employed people in a trading office (LLC/sub-LLC structure) would be fine too. Don´t know yet if this could be a possible path. I would be a perfect risk-manager. I would watch every trader like a hawk. I am just tired of holding other peoples hand. I came across GTT. I think I will contact theese people. Does anyone here have similar and reliable contacts?