Hi Angela,
As you've gathered from the previous answers you've received, the US doesn't make it easy on the Brits to stay here permanently. You would have no problem purchasing property here - just about anyone of any nationality can own property in the US. The problem is the visa, as Christian Bohyn pointed out. But there are several different types of visas available. To see if you might be eligible for any of them, or for more information on immigration, go to http://www.usembassy.org.uk. This is the US embassy in England, and you can get a lot of information there - even the forms to fill out are available on line.

Another thing to remember is this. As it says on that website, a visa "entitles the holder to travel to the US and apply for admission; it does NOT guarantee entry. An immigration inspector at the port of entry determines the visa holder's eligibility for admission". My husband is an ex-pat, but not a US citizen, and we still worry about his being denied entry when going through customs.

If you are really interested in immigrating permanently, I would STRONGLY advise you seek advise from an immigration attorney who regularly works with emigration solicitors in the UK.
-Julie

Angela,

I think I am in a good position to answer that one.
I am a Realtor, living in FL, on an E2 Visa. I bought the house before I had the E2 and wanted to use the investment in the house as part of my E2 investment requirement and I can assure you that it did not fly!
Investment by an E2 visa holder has to be in the business and it has to be in intangible stuff.
My mother came to visit us and she really loved it here so she bought a property cash in an adult community.
Unfortunately she has to leave after 6 months of stay, so they became snowbirds
To resume, you are not allowed to live in the property all year even if you paid cash for it.
If you really want to live here for the whole year, then an E2 Visa is a solution but you will need to invest te necessary amount, employ us citizens and take care of business.
And don't forget the E2 is renewable every 5 years.
So if business is bad after 5 years, you might not get a renewal.
If you do want to get a permanent visa then you'd better look into an L1, that one opens the door to the green card.

Another option might be to obtain the Mexican nationality and then come in the country illegally...It is my understanding that those are the ones that can easily legalize and stay. (Not that I have anything against Mexican's don't get me wrong)
People like me who invested more than $1,000,000 in this country and who employs 5 US Citizen's can't get a green card and have to re apply every 5 years. Anyway, that's another story.

I hope this answers your question

Hello Angela,

Here is the information I found out for you.

"Holders of E visas may reside in the United States as long as they continue to maintain their status with the enterprise."

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1273.html#8


Kind regards,

Jackie Fortier
Cinderella Realty