We have a very interesting new service with our international partners for Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indian-born people who are currently in the EB-5 visa backlog. This also might be a useful service for an H-4 spouse of an H-1b worker who is currently awaiting a number in the EB-2 or EB-3 backlog.

If a person wishes to gain a second citizenship in order to take advantage of the E-2 program while they await visa availability in another category, we are now able to offer a turnkey, concierge service with our partners in Turkey to take advantage of their citizenship-by-investment program.

The program is designed to be both low-risk and ultimately pay for itself. There are two options for Turkish citizenship - purchasing a property for at least USD$250,000 or putting USD$500,000 in a Turkish bank. In both cases, there is a required three year holding period. In the case of the property purchase method, local developers are offering buy-back guarantees at the end of the holding period. In addition, some developers are even offering rental guarantees so that investors will have guaranteed earnings during the holding period. In the bank deposit method, the annual interest rate is in the 2% range, meaning that people in that program earn about USD$10,000 per year.

I recently return from a few days in Turkey where I met with both Turkish immigration lawyers and real estate professionals and developers there. We have assembled a team that can offer a one-stop solution to gaining Turkish citizenship - and profiting from it. Once a person has Turkish citizenship (and their spouse and children under 18 qualify as well based on the same investment), we can process an E-2 case for them. A successful E-2 will provide a long-term solution to immigrate to the U.S. while awaiting availability in a different category. The E-2 does not have a maximum duration, though it must be renewed every five years (based on the bilateral trade treaty between the U.S. and Turkey - other countries may have shorter or different durations). In addition, the E-2 visa for a citizen of Turkey is a multiple entry visa. On the E-2 side, this will also set the client up with a ready-made business opportunity in the U.S. for when they arrive - letting them work and immediately begin earning a normal income.