The recurring questions. The direct answers.

The E-2 visa is a non-immigrant work visa. It allows you to actively manage a business in the United States. It's renewable indefinitely, but doesn't directly lead to a green card. It's reserved for nationals of countries with a treaty of commerce with the United States — including France.

The EB-5 visa is an immigrant investor visa. It leads directly to permanent residency (green card). The minimum threshold is $800,000 in a TEA (Targeted Employment Area) or $1,050,000 outside one. The investor must create at least 10 full-time jobs. EB-5 Direct requires active management of the business.

In short: if you want to settle long-term and get the green card, EB-5 is the right path. If you want to first test yourself on the US market with more flexibility, E-2 is a better fit.

No. I work exclusively on EB-5 Direct — meaning the acquisition of a business that the investor will actively manage.

EB-5 via Regional Center (often called EB-5 TEA) is a passive investment in a fund or real estate project managed by a third party. The investor has no control over their capital, no guarantee of recovery, and manages nothing. It's essentially a way to buy a green card — capital is locked up for several years with a risk of partial or total loss.

This type of filing doesn't require my involvement: there's no business to analyze, no due diligence to run, no negotiation. That said, the compensation structure for intermediaries who sell these vehicles is often opaque and poorly aligned with the investor's interests.

EB-5 Direct, on the other hand, involves finding the right business, valuing it correctly, structuring the acquisition, and building the USCIS file (I-526E). That's where my involvement creates value.

In the vast majority of asset purchase cases, yes. The LLC is the entity that buys the business — it protects you personally from the business's potential debts and disputes, and it's generally what the seller, the attorney, and the closing process expect.

The LLC is also required for the E-2 visa: it's the entity you invest in. I coordinate its formation with a business attorney starting in Phase 6, in parallel with due diligence.

For a French national filing an E-2 with the US consulate in Paris, the timeline is generally 2 to 4 months between submitting the complete file and receiving the visa. This can vary by consulate and the complexity of the file.

The E-2 file must demonstrate a substantial investment, business viability, and your active management role. That's why I work with an immigration attorney specialized in E-2 and EB-5 — the file needs to be solid on first submission.

Yes — it's one of the levers I offer through a specialized lending partner. This lender provides business credit backed by the borrower's residential asset (property in France or the United States).

In practice: if you own your primary residence with available equity, you can leverage that asset to finance part of your acquisition in Florida. This lets buyers with significant real estate wealth but limited liquidity access more ambitious deals.

Exact terms depend on your situation and are assessed with the lender starting in Phase 4.

Seller financing is a common practice in US SMB transactions. The seller agrees to receive part of the sale price on a deferred basis — typically 10 to 30% — in the form of a promissory note repaid over 3 to 5 years at a negotiated interest rate.

It's good for the buyer: it reduces the capital needed at closing, and it means the seller has a stake in the transition going well (they're a creditor). It's also a signal that the seller has confidence in the value of the business they're selling.

I negotiate the seller financing terms as part of the LOI (Phase 4).

SBA (Small Business Administration) loans are a useful lever for American buyers, but they come with significant constraints for foreign investors on an E-2 or EB-5 visa: personal guarantee requirements in the US, longer timelines, residency conditions.

My preference goes to seller financing (more flexible) and real estate asset-backed financing (more accessible for French profiles). Both offer a better simplicity-to-effectiveness ratio for my clients.

No. I work exclusively as the buyer's representative. This is a deliberate choice: dual representation (buyer and seller at once) creates conflicts of interest I refuse to accept.

My mandate is exclusive to the buyer's side. That means your interest is the only one I defend — in price negotiation, in due diligence, in structuring the deal.

SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings) represents the real profit an owner-operator takes from their business: net income + owner's salary + depreciation + discretionary expenses (personal costs run through the business). It's the standard measure for valuing US SMBs.

Revenue says nothing about profitability. A restaurant doing $800K in revenue could have an SDE of $80K (not interesting) or $200K (very interesting). Valuation of an SMB in Florida is generally done by applying a multiple to SDE — typically 2x to 4x depending on sector, size, and dependency on the current owner.

My work in Phase 3 is precisely to rebuild the real SDE — that is, what you'll actually take home after the takeover, not what the seller advertises.

The Florida market is vast, but good deals aren't plentiful. If the Phase 2 shortlist doesn't produce a satisfactory opportunity within 4 weeks, we revisit the target profile together — sector, area, SDE range — and relaunch a sourcing cycle.

If after 6 months of an active mandate no deal has closed, the retainer remains earned. But it can be credited toward a new mandate within 12 months — a way to recognize the work done without penalizing you if the market doesn't deliver.

Each partner is paid directly by you, at their own rates. I receive no commission on their fees and take no margin on their services.

Before engaging each partner, I give you an estimate of their fees so you can budget the entire transaction. No surprises.

There's no universal answer — it all depends on your experience, risk tolerance, and target area. That said, for a first E-2 purchase, certain sectors tend to be good fits: personal services (cleaning, maintenance, health/beauty), B2B service businesses (maintenance, light logistics), and certain restaurants or franchises with a proven model.

I systematically advise against businesses with heavy dependency on the current owner (their network, their specific skills) or with extreme seasonality, unless you have direct experience with it.

That's exactly what we define together in Phase 1 — before we even start searching.

Yes — in a specific role. If you're considering a franchise during our engagement, I step in as an analysis advisor, not a franchise broker.

What I do: analyze the FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document), model the total investment over 36 months, assess E-2 or EB-5 Direct visa compatibility, and give you a reasoned go/no-go recommendation. This is where my M&A experience adds real value — reading an Item 19, challenging the franchisor's return-on-investment assumptions, understanding what the FDD doesn't say.

What I don't do: represent the franchisor, get you into their selection network, negotiate the franchise agreement (generally non-negotiable). And I take no commission from the franchisor — your interest is my only one.

This engagement is formalized through a side letter attached to your mandate, with a flat fee of $2,000. Learn more on the Services page.