London Property Developer wanting to relocate to USA

[atl]

Hi there,

I am, 26- an LSE university graduate who has made his way over the last 5 years from working in Private Equity to property development in my family's architectural practice. At present we concentrate in London on high end residential development in prime areas such as Chelsea.

I am looking to relocate to the States, in particular Charlottesville Virginia. I have an initial development cash sum of up to 2.5-3.5 million dollars (without leverage) to purchase and develop property. On a recent visit I have found a potential development that would take over 18 months to complete, with very little time to find out all the ins and outs of US regulations regarding immigration, I just wondered whether anyone could offer any light as to where I should start. Clearly the capital investment is above that of the investment requirements for some sorts of visas, but it is in property rather than a business, and we would be employing 5-8 construction workers for 18-24 months, but I wonder if this is satisfactory.

Should the market prove susceptible, it would be our intention to eventually wind up the UK PropCo and develop entirely in the states with a much larger budget, but the relocation of my parents (the architects) also.

To add further complication, my long term partner is a qualified veterinarian surgeon- she would be coming also, however in order to practice in the States, she is required to take their own exams. In order to pass these tests it is likely to take 12 months, however, would there be any possibility of her achieving a visa to work over there? Again clearly one would not want to 're-train' to then not gain entry!

I would be grateful for any suggestions,

Best

Anthony