Investor visa in the U.S.: amounts spent by Colombians in 2023 revealed
Colombia has had an important flow of investment in the United States through the investor visa, after the crisis left by the pandemic.
According to data from Cody Dietrich, commercial attaché of the U.S. Embassy, Colombia invested $19.8 billion in the United States in 2021 alone. It was the tenth fastest growing source of foreign direct investment.
Today, and according to the report of Direct Investment Flows in the Colombian Economy (January – March 2023) by the Bank of the Republic, the flows of FDI by country of destination were Panama ($170 million), Chile ($99 million), the United States ($92 million) and Switzerland ($88 million).
One of the most recurrent paths being used by Colombians is the Investor Visa, which allows married couples to have a business and work, while unmarried children under 21 years of age can study in the country legally for up to five years, with the opportunity to renew after that time.
According to Dayana Abreu, CEO of Global Business International, a U.S. company with 17 years of experience in this type of projects and procedures, it must be taken into account that to obtain this type of visa it is necessary to have an active investment in the USA, because a passive one does not work for these cases.
“Some people think that if they invest, for example, in a house or a lot in the United States, they will be able to have this type of Visa and it is not so. For this Visa it is necessary to choose one of four paths: either you buy a franchise, or you take your own brand to make it grow, or you buy an established business, or you develop a construction business meeting certain requirements”, indicates the CEO.
This type of investment has been on the rise due to the large migratory movements from the American continent that showed a considerable increase during 2022 compared to previous years.
According to the report ‘Migration Trends in the Americas – February 2023’ by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), “additional factors include real and perceived policy changes, exacerbated food insecurity, political instability and violence in some countries of origin, and vulnerabilities related to environmental degradation and disasters, among others.”
“For us, the Colombian market is very important because we have seen a substantial increase in the number of investors from this country to do business and live legally in the United States. We know that in 2022 more than 130,000 Colombians will come to the U.S. to do business and live legally in the U.S., which surpasses in an extraordinary way the 2021, where only more than 10,000 took this route,” said Victor Parra, vice president of the consulting firm Global Business International.
Where to look for information about the investor visa?
Due to the increase of Colombians who want to leave the country as a consequence of the uncertainty, many of them look for information on Social Networks without knowing who is behind the advertisements.
According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, victims of fraud in that country lost close to US$8.8 billion in 2022 and three out of every 10 Colombians who invest in the United States are scammed.
“On the Internet they can say many things or say things even that are not correct. That is why it is so important to have experts. From Global Business International we are interested that more Colombians receive comprehensive corporate advice on how to grow their business or open a new one in the United States. Each country has different immigration requirements, so we want to provide specific information based on the experience of each client”, explained Victor Parra.
For this reason, next Friday June 23rd at the Sonesta Hotel in Bogota (Carrera 15 Nº125-26) at 10:00 a.m., Global Business International will hold the conference ‘Invest and live in the United States’ where those interested can learn first hand the details to start the business plan to invest in the United States.
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