Italy Relocation: Molise, Sambuca & One Euro Homes

David Cantor is a licensed attorney in the State of New York based in our Florence, Italy office. David oversees Client Relations for Davies & Associates Global Investor and Business Visa Practice.

 

Recently, select municipalities throughout Italy (Molise, Sambuca, Mussomeli, Patricia, and others) have launched official economic programs to stimulate and rescue dwindling communities. These unprecedented economic strategies involve marketing lucrative offers for individuals and families to establish residency and businesses in select, dwindling, provincial townships and communities – from purchasing 1 EURO homes to effectively gifting 25,000 EUROS/year to those that qualify.

These “too good to be true” offers have attracted significant international media attention, and consequently a high-volume of candidates who wish to pursue the Italy dream. In fact, you do not have to go far to find information – simply Google: “1 Euro Home” or “Molise Italy”.

 

Yet, like many “too good to be true” offers, these Italy relocation programs come with fine-print and unique challenges. While there is still merit to these official programs and there aim to bolster dwindling rural townships, there are some practical considerations for anyone seriously considering them.

 

At Davies & Associates, along with our Italy-based partners, we have taken our time to perform due-diligence on these various programs, learn more about the practical details, challenges and concerns. We have spoken to official representatives at Molise, and scheduled appointments in Mussomeli, Sicily to visit the 1 Euro homes. To say the least, these provincial townships, once quiet, can barely handle the in-flux of inquiries. Many municipalities have had to hire English-speaking staff to simply answer the phones.

 

All considered, before packing any bags and making plans to migrate with the entire family to collect 700 Euros/month out of thin air, it is necessary to understand some basics with regards Italy’s immigration and residency regulations.

 

“You still need a visa for this program,” comments Pietro Pennisi, Partner & Senior Immigration Attorney at JMU law firm in Italy. “Many of the people interested in this program are being misled, or misinformed. You cannot obtain a visa in Italy through these programs, you need a visa for this program.”

 

For non-EU members, to obtain Italian residency, you need the requisite visa for Italy. If you are a member of the European Union, you need proof of health insurance and the ability to demonstrate you have the required minimum capital in your bank accounts. For Non-European Union residents, it is even more complicated. For example, the Molise program (offering 25,000 EUROS or roughly 700 EUROS/month for three years), which will no longer be accepting applications after November 30th, requires you to establish a business in Molise. This requires a work-permit. A work permit requires a visa. Through the visa, you can then apply for residency.

 

In other words, simply purchasing a one EURO home or being accepted into the Molise program does not grant the immediate right to receive a visa for Italy. This still needs to go through traditional, formal immigration processing channels, and eligibility for obtaining a visa in Italy will vary on a case-by-case basis.

 

At Davies & Associates, we offer a full-suite of relocation and business services for Italy. This includes immigration and residency solutions, real-estate and property representation, business and corporate support, as well as tailored tax advice.

In fact, the above programs are simply one part of the bigger picture when it comes to Italy’s efforts to stimulate the national economy (read more about Italy’s new Impatriate Tax Regime for high net worth individuals, investors and pensioners). For those interested in learning more about opportunities to migrate and live in Italy, please contact us today.


Key Benefits of Working with A Regional Center in EB 5 

Cost of EB 5 Visa

Girish Mohile is an Associate with D&A based in Mumbai, India. Girish works as local Business Development representative for the firm and acts as liaison between Indian clients and US attorneys on their source of funds. Girish is not licensed to practice law in the United States and nothing in this blog constitutes legal advice.

 

EB 5 Visa or also known as the Immigrant Investor Program, enables foreign investors to get a US Green Card through investment. An individual needs to fulfil the following requirements to be eligible to apply for this visa.

 

  1. The investor has to invest a minimum amount of $500,000 via an EB 5 regional center
  2. The investor also needs to demonstrate that the investment capital has come from legitimate sources.
  3. The investor should have a clean criminal record. 

If you too want to invest in the US economy, you have two options: make and manage the investment yourself (Direct EB5) or invest with a Regional Center.

 

 Over 90% of investors choose the Regional Center route, and here’s why.

What are these regional centers? 

These are public or private organizations designated to sponsor capital investment projects by the US Immigration Department. Their work is limited to a specific geographical area they are assigned to monitor.

Here are some key benefits of taking EB 5 visa through the regional center program.

1. EB 5 visa conditions require an investor to create 10 full-time jobs in the country. Regional Centers are allowed to make advanced calculations which includes indirect jobs created by the project. This increases the chances of compliance with the job-creation requirement and mitigates the risk of losing the Green Card. When making an investment yourself, it can be harder to prove that jobs have been created.

2. Investments made through Regional Centers are usually made in targeted employment areas. These areas are targeted because either they are rural areas or they have a very high unemployment rate. The benefit that you get in this case is that the minimum investment requirement reduced by half. For investments in targeted employment areas, the minimum capital requirement is just $500,000 as opposed to $1 million in all other cases. When making the investment yourself through the Direct Route, it can be harder to prove that you have made the investment in a targeted employment area.

3. The Regional Center program offers the investor freedom to pursue other interests in the United States without the burden of complying with the Program’s rules. For example, when you invest through the Direct EB 5 route, you are expected to take up managerial jobs in the business. This is not the case with the Regional Center program. You can take up the role of a policy adviser and fulfil your responsibilities even when you are not in the country. This gives you the freedom to do away with the requirement of living near the business where you invested.

 

For more information about US business immigration rules and requirements, you should consult the experts.

 


5 Types of Startup Visas That Are Good for Entrepreneurs

Cost of EB 5 Visa

Girish Mohile is an Associate with D&A based in Mumbai, India. Girish works as local Business Development representative for the firm and acts as liaison between Indian clients and US attorneys on their source of funds. Girish is not licensed to practice law in the United States and nothing in this blog constitutes legal advice.

 

Every year, several people from around the world migrate to the US in search of better business opportunities. Several studies by Inc have suggested that foreign entrepreneurs have started more than half of the private startups in the US. If you too, have been planning to move to the US and found a startup, you can read about these five different types of visas for entrepreneurs.

 

1. EB-5 Visa

This visa is also known by the name of the Immigrant Investor Program. After getting Eb-5 visa, you become eligible to become a permanent resident of the US. One condition for this is that you should invest at least $1 million in any business venture in the US. If you are investing in a business setup in any rural area, you can do that with an investment of only $5,00,000. While you do not need any employer for this visa, people face the difficulty in investing a large number of funds. There is also a cap on the maximum number of people who would be given this visa. The US provides this visa to only 10,000 people every year.

 

You will also be required to submit relevant documents like business loan agreement, investment agreement, etc. to the government.

 

2. E-2 Visa

While it is quite challenging to obtain an EB-5 visa, you can get an investor visa USA with a minimum investment of only $1,00,000. One shortcoming with this visa is that you need to be a resident of a country with which the USA has signed an investment treaty. At present, only 80 countries have signed this treaty with the US, and there are several potential countries like India and China, which aren’t on the list.

 

3. EB-2(C) Visa

If you lack sufficient funds to invest in a business, you can choose to apply for the EB-2(C) visa. Although it is a kind of employment visa, it doesn’t require you to be an employer. You can get this visa even if you have a master’s degree or if you are highly talented in your field. You will need to prove that you are skilled enough to be of value to the country’s interests.

 

4. O-1 Visa

This visa is similar to EB-2(C) visa, but it is not an immigrant visa. While you can work in the US if you are talented enough, you would not get a green card. If you are exceptionally talented in your field, you can apply for this visa, but you will have to find a business to sponsor you.

 

5. L-1 Visa

US offers two types of L-1 visa from USA to India to entrepreneurs. Only company managers and top executives are eligible to get L-1A visas. It also has the requirement of you working for at least one year in the company’s US office. You can also get this visa if you open an office for yourself in the US.


Qualifying for a Merit-Based US Visa Application

David Cantor- Immigration Visa Attorney in UK

David Cantor is a licensed attorney in the State of New York based in our Florence, Italy office. David oversees Client Relations for Davies & Associates Global Investor and Business Visa Practice. 

The current administration is favorably adjudicating “merit-based’ visa applications. While “merit-based” is a broad concept, applicable to multiple US visa categories, it generally refers to individuals whom can demonstrate that they have achieved a certain level of success and recognition in their respective professions. At Davies & Associates, we focus on two immigrant-visa categories that do not require an employer sponsor (i.e. a job-offer). In essence, the applicant may self-petition based on their respective achievements and professional profiles. At Davies & Associates we successfully represent qualified individuals from a variety of professions: foreign medical practitioners and researchers, multinational business executives, scientists, philanthropists, artists and many more.

Can I get a visa without a job-sponsor or employer?

The two main immigration pathways that we specialize in are the Employment Based (EB), and National Interest Waiver (NIW) visa categories.

As part of our in-take procedure, our qualified legal professionals with thoroughly evaluate your candidacy and determine the most suitable immigration strategy.

Succinctly, the extraordinary ability category (Employment Based 1st Preference – i.e. EB-1A) requires an applicant to prove that they have risen to the top of their field and attained sustained acclaim. The National Interest Waiver category (NIW) requires proof that your work is of “substantial merit” and “national importance” and that you will be coming to the U.S. to continue the type of work you have been doing overseas, ensuring it continues to constitute “substantial merit” and “national importance”.

The extraordinary ability and national interest waiver classification applications must demonstrate that an applicant meets a specific series of criteria.  In many cases, a potential candidate you will have the opportunity to apply for one or both categories.  There are many factors to consider.

Please contact our firm today to request EB-1A criteria and similar materials pertaining to NIW criteria.

EB-1A

This is the highest level of visa classification and USCIS looks very closely to determine that you have received or been nominated for a major industry award or meet at least 3 of the ten “alternate” criteria.

You must meet 3 out of the 10 listed criteria below to prove extraordinary ability in your field:

  • Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence

  • Evidence of your membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achievement of their members

  • Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media

  • Evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others, either individually or on a panel

  • Evidence of your original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field

  • Evidence of your authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media

  • Evidence that your work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases

  • Evidence of your performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations

  • Evidence that you command a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field

  • Evidence of your commercial successes in the performing arts

** Examples of Documentary Evidence That A Person is an Outstanding Professor Or Researcher

  • Evidence of receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement

  • Evidence of membership in associations that require their members to demonstrate outstanding achievement

  • Evidence of published material in professional publications written by others about the alien’s work in the academic field

  • Evidence of participation, either on a panel or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied academic field

  • Evidence of original scientific or scholarly research contributions in the field

  • Evidence of authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the field

NIW

With NIW status, the emphasis is on the work an applicant is conducting as we must demonstrate that it is of “substantial merit” and “national importance.” In addition, it must be shown that the applicants “prospective endeavor” in the U.S. is so important that using the traditional route of filing a labor application would be detrimental to at least a segment of the U.S. population. Although the applicant is not required to have an employer sponsor for NIW classification, we need to demonstrate the clear possibility of prospective U.S. work in the applicants area of endeavor and it is in fact preferable that the applicant have a substantive employment scenario lined up (it need not, however, be a traditional employment arrangement).

At the center of an NIW petition is the nature of the “proposed endeavor” an applicant will undertake upon the approval of your permanent residence application. As requirements for legal immigration become more stringent, the “proposed endeavor” in the U.S. is becoming increasingly more important; it is the “centerpiece” of the NIW petition. To successfully prepare an applicant’s petition, we require a detailed description of the professional activities that an applicant will prospectively perform upon entering the United States as a U.S. permanent resident, together with a detailed explanation of why this role would be considered important to various industries in the United States.

Timeframes for EB-1A and NIW petitions

All EB-1A and NIW petitions are submitted to the Texas Service Center which then has the option of forwarding these matters to the Nebraska Service Center based on the workloads of both Service Centers – we have no control over this.  At the time of this writing, the TSC is processing both EB-1A and NIW petitions that were submitted on or before March 10, 2019 while the NSC is working on both types of petitions that they received on or before February 7, 2019. Therefore, they are quite close as to processing times, having a 7 or 8 month backlog.

For the most recent processing times please visit the US Government website.

Second stage of U.S. permanent residence

Applying for EB-1A or NIW classification permits an applicant to skip the first procedure generally required in the permanent residence process which involves submitting an application to the U.S. Department of Labor. Having to submit this labor application can add up to a year to the processing of a permanent resident application, so it is of great benefit timewise that an applicant will not have to go through this.

The U.S. Department of State monthly bulletin

Each month the US Dept. of State publishes a visa bulletin in which they list the “priority dates” of all categories for both family and business-based immigration. The priority date refers to the date that the first stage of your permanent residence process was filed.

You can find updated information on the US Department of State website here. Please contact our attorneys to learn more about processing times and how it may influence your immigration strategy.

Working in the U.S. while your permanent residence application is being processed

A large number of foreign nationals applying for U.S. permanent residence use the option of obtaining a temporary visa status so they may work in the U.S. while they wait for their permanent residence application to be approved. In many of our “merit-based” client situations, an O-1A visa can be appropriate for this purpose. The criteria for O-1A visa status is very similar to that pertaining to EB-1A visa status.

Although O-1 visa classification has benefit’s that other types of temporary status do not, it is required that to qualify for O-1 visa status an applicant must have an employer willing to sponsor them. However, the applicant may also use an agent who will serve as an intermediary if you have multiple short term or part-time employers.  An applicant may also work for multiple employers as long as they are included in the petition, and we may add additional employers during the duration of an applicant’s O-1 petition.

Our Firm and Intake Procedures

Through immigrant visa applications a candidate will be granted permanent residence. To be granted a United States Green Card based on your own professional and career achievements is significant matter. At Davies & Associates we do not accept every case and our prospective clients are put through a rigorous initial evaluation to determine eligibility.

If you are interested to learn more about these visa-categories, and whether or not you may qualify please contact us today.