About Us
The usual practice of Immigration law firms — and there are many outstanding ones across the United States — is to help a wide range of clients obtain a wide range of visas. We are not an “immigration law firm” in that sense.
For over three decades we have helped foreign clients do business in the United States, not to mention helping US. clients do business in foreign countries. We have found it difficult to tell them that they can bring their businesses to the United States, but they can’t bring themselves. So we focus exclusively on obtaining the types of visa which are designed for such purpose. In the case of nationals of more than 80 countries, these are the E-1 Treaty Trader and the E-2 Treaty Investor visas.
We are oriented towards a specific visa process
This specialization in the Treaty Visas allows us to assemble a team whose talents are oriented to helping clients deal with both the legal and business issues that are part of the application process.
These two visas are somewhat unique in that they require the applicant to have committed itself to a certain real business at the time of application.
This commitment cannot be a theoretical commitment to a vague business idea, such as, “It is my intention to sell vacuum cleaners, I love them so much.” It is, rather, “Look, I have leased a space in this particular location to sell vacuum cleaners.” And so, just to apply for the visa, you must already be in business, or entered into some preliminary commitments sufficient to demonstrate that you will engage in this business when the visa is approved.
So our goal may be to help you reach a level of commitment necessary to apply for and get the visa, while limiting your risk in the event (as improbable as it may be) that the visa is not granted. We can do this through a variety of ways–see for example, the use of escrow, which we talk about on this page. Or we can steer you towards the type of capital investment–real property, for example (in contrast to inventory)–whose value tends to hold up, and often appreciates.
William D. Signet
The founder of the Signet Law Firm is William D. Signet, an American lawyer whose career in international business spans several decades.
His formal education in Texas, California, Paris, and New York culminated in his graduation with honors from Columbia University Law School and its Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law. HIs initial work at Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston, Texas, was followed by transnational legal practice, in which he has represented clients ranging from Mitsubishi Aircraft to professional athletes in Nigeria, from Johnson & Johnson in Mexico to lumber growers in the Philippines.
For seven years Mr. Signet taught a specialized course in international trade and investment at the Law School of the University of Texas. Over six volumes on international legal subjects have been published by West Group and other major legal publishers in the U.S., and his articles have appeared in several peer-reviewed law journals.
With the Treaty Visas, there will be more work on the front end
The E-1 and E-2 Treaty Visas also contrast sharply with other visas in that they require much contact between us and our clients even before the application is submitted.
In the H work visas, for example, most of the work will be done by your future employer, including obtaining a labor certificate, as well as initiating the visa application. With the Treaty Visas, the benefit of not having to have a sponsor, and being your own boss, is offset by the fact that you — meaning us — must do a lot of preliminary work.
A substantial amount of reporting and documentation must be prepared and presented to U.S. immigration at the time the formal application is submitted. These are presented as an appendix to the application, and sometimes must be contained a separate notebook. The exact requirements as to this prepared material depends on the country in which you reside. To give you some idea of the nature of this prepared material, the following requirements apply to visa applications submitted in Mexico. In our opinion, both the application itself, and any accompanying reports or materials, are complex, require specialized knowledge, and your competence in preparing them may be used to evaluate your business acumen. They should be prepared by your lawyer.
In addition you may wish us to assist you with the non-migratory aspects of foreign investment which may include establishing a corporate entity representing the U.S. business, the election of the first board of directors (or sole directorship); issuance of shares to the owners; adoption of operating charters such as bylaws; etc. Finally, there is the entire matter of representing you in the actual building of your business, if that is your desire.
The “Signet” in The Signet Law Firm is William D. Signet, an American lawyer whose career in international business spans several decades.
His formal education in Texas, California, Paris, and New York culminated in his graduation with honors from Columbia University Law School and its Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law. HIs initial work at Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston, Texas, was followed by transnational legal practice, in which he has represented clients ranging from Mitsubishi Aircraft to professional athletes in Nigeria, from Johnson & Johnson in Mexico to lumber growers in the Philippines.
For seven years Mr. Signet taught a specialized course in international trade and investment at the Law School of the University of Texas. Over six volumes on international legal subjects have been published by West Group and other major legal publishers in the U.S., and his articles have appeared in several peer-reviewed law journals.
How we can work together
Our first step is for our representative to speak with you, in your own time zone, and, hopefully, in your language. We want to understand your objectives, and get enough information so that we both may make an initial assessment if the E-1 or E-2 Treaty Visa is the best fit for you. There is no charge for this initial conversation.
All you have to do is press on the contact link below.
The SIGNET Law Firm
We are dedicated to helping foreign business invest and operate in the United States successfully. As part of our services, we specialize in helping our clients procure the E-1 and E-2 visas, which enable them to live in the U.S. while they manage and operate their businesses.
Thank you.
We hope you have found this information useful. If you would like to speak with us, we are available.