What’s the “relevant amount of money”?
as i said - 1 million or 500k if you’re investing in an area of economic need (as specified by various governmental enntities)
Let’s say I’ve got about 200k - 300k to spend, with no direct employment or anything like that. Could I go for citizenship?
Realistically, your options for obtaining legal permanent residency are either to marry an American or through employment. I’m from Hong Kong, and I attended some of my high school and university in the US. I studied computer sciences, and I was offered a job here after graduation, and the company agreed to sponsor my green card application. I first started working under the 1-year Practical Training provision allowed by the student visa while my temporary employment visa (H-1B) is being processed. Then I worked under the H-1B while the papers for permanent residency are being pushed through, which took about 4.5 years and a number of frustrating visits to the INS office. However, I think the backlog is significantly longer nowadays, and given today’s economy, there’re probably also not as many companies willing to go through this very long and complicated process with you.
I’ve now been a permanent resident for over 5 years. Given that I’m not a criminal, a Commie, or a terrorist, there shouldn’t be any problems should I decide to submit an application for citizenship.
not under EB-5, no. and there are no other schemes that i’m aware of that would grant you residency for that amount of money (well, legal ones at least)
also, it’s incorrect to talk about “going for citizenship” in this context. Naturalization, becoming a citizen, is entirely different than gaining residency and immigrating. There are many people who are permanent residents who go long, long times without becoming citizens.
You could always look into the Expeditious Naturalization program. That one waives all residency requirements.
EB-6 Visa Bill Introduced; Green Card in 2 Years
http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/eb-6-visa-green-card/
Well, you could marry one of my many siblings. Or you could go inquire at Philips. Barring those options, I would just apply for jobs until you get a strike. In IT you will find the employers very familiar with the ins and outs of visa applications.
The legal options are well outlined on the website of the US consulate in Amsterdam, if you read that you will be well on your way. As a practical matter, though:
As you are a freelancer, I would also consider contacting one of the numerous Dutch/Holland clubs in the US – I know for certain that there are large ones in the Bay Area and in Atlanta, and I feel confident that you will hit pay dirt around Michigan (though it will be cold pay dirt) for the ons kent ons factor. The clubs usually consist of both immigrants and expats and are usually to be found by calling the local Dutch consulate. I can also recommend the Dutch consulate in Atlanta for its helpfulness and generally good advice. They recently established a Netherlands-American Chamber of Commerce for the southeast region, you may find some useful connections there also.
It is really more a question of how you get to the US legally, once you get there you just have to stay for 5 years and then apply. Or marry an American (shacking up won’t get you there in the US).
It used to be the case that the Dutch government did not recognize the part of the oath in the US about giving up alliance to all other nations (because it is not voluntary), resulting in the situation that the US treated folks naturalized in the US as US citizens and the NL treated them as dual citizens. I do not know if this is still true.
The difference between a green card holder and a passport holder in the US is not as great as it is here in NL, you may find that a green card is sufficient for you after you get there. My (Dutch) husband lived there for 12 years and never felt the need to convert to a blue passport.
Do you need to move before June?
Not “stay,” but “be a permanent resident” for 5 years. It is different. Being in the US as a legal non-permanent resident (for example under consecutive student visas) does not “count.”
Well, techincally you are righ. However, most of the visas can be converted to permanent residence status. I think the student visa may be the only one that cannot, though it can be through the back door of getting a job. And if he is moving there forever, the exact amount of time it takes to get the little blue book may not be of primary importance.
Actually, that is a very big difference. It is significantly more difficult and time consuming to obtain permanent residence status than any other non-immigrant visas. I had been in the US for almost 10 years (including both school and work) before my permanent resident status was approved, and none of those times count for naturalization purpose. Until the PR status is approved, there’s always the risk that the application will be denied for whatever reasons and you’ll be removed from the country. Also, with the exception of the H and the L status (which are the temporary work and company transfer visas) and a few other limited exceptions, you must not ever reveal to any immigration officials that you intent to immigrate to the US. Otherwise, it is an automatic disqualification and you’ll be more or less banned from the country.
But if you really want to fit in here, don’t get too high a score. 
the conversion is the tricky part. it’s not like, poof, converted! so, not only is he technically right, he’s right right.
and, actually, most non-immigrant visas are non-transferrable (i.e. not “dual intent” visas - the dual intent being on one hand, you intend to become an immigrant under an immigrant visa, and on the other hand, you never intended to become an immigrant which is a requirement to receive non dual-intent non-immigrant visas)
Introduced bills aren’t law and aren’t pertinent.
You really need to break this up into two distinct pieces.
- Becoming a permanent resident of the United States.
- Becoming a citizen of the United States.
Number (2) is easy to understand, and compared to (1) is practically a formality. Once you have been a permanent resident for 5 years (or been a permanent resident and married to a US citizen for 3 years) you can apply for citizenship. Barring things like a criminal record you should almost certainly be approved, although it might take some time to process.
Number (1) is extremely difficult, although once achieved you are 99% there. Once you have this status your American day to day life will be no different to the life of a citizen, although you won’t be able to vote (or be selected for jury duty).
In your specific case employment or marriage are probably the only realistic options. I did both, sort of. I came to the United States on an H1-B temporary work visa in 2004. An H1-B is a 3 year visa that can be renewed up to 6 years (longer if you’ve got a permanent residency application in the works), during which time your company can sponsor you for permanent residency. However there are tight quotas, and while my company started this process early on I would still be waiting if it weren’t for the fact that during this time I married a US citizen. There are no quotas for marriage, so no waiting times other than the regular processing times (in my case 6 months). This will give you a conditional permanent residency which expires in 2 years, at which time you need to reapply for a non-conditional permanent residency - this is to help fight marriage fraud. I am currently past this stage, and in 1 year I will be eligible to apply for citizenship.
Finding an employer willing to go to the trouble of sponsoring you is your biggest hurdle, and it is not a case of them saying “hey, US government, I like this Dutch dude so he’s coming over, okay bye”. There is a mountain of procedure and paperwork, and eligibility is by no means guaranteed. Typically the company needs to prove that there was no available local worker, and they had to reach out abroad. They will spend a lot of time and money on your case, and your eligibility will not be predictable or quick. This puts you at a huge competitive disadvantage. I’'m not sure what your education background is, but it is also likely you will hit quotas that will keep your application in limbo for many years. And if you aren’t college educated I would put your chances at close to 0%.
In summary, it is tough. I’m glad I did it though, I really enjoy living here and have settled in nicely. I was lucky in that I joined a company that was expanding in the US and was keen to move employees over at the right time (there are quotas for the H1-B that were not filling nearly as quickly back then). Your best strategy is probably to position your career within a firm in a similar situation.
I’m technically college educated, but I’m a drop out.
Cheers everyone for the information 
The H1-B work visa requires a college degree.
Unless you get married to an American, you aren’t coming to the US (except as a tourist or a student) for the foreseeable future.
pdts
I was merely commenting that the bill has been introduced, not that it was law. It is pertinent in that if it were to become law, it would allow Superfluous Parentheses to make an investment of US$250,000 rather than $1million. That aside, all your posts in this thread have been spot on so I didn’t feel the need to add anything else.
Superfluous Parentheses, without a Bachelor’s degree you will probably be denied an H1-B visa, unless you qualify as having specialized work experience that substitutes for the degree:
Bolding mine.
FWIW, the Dutch system is somewhat different from ours, as it is almost entirely based on the notion of job training. As I understand it, if the OP finished the first 2 years of a program at HBO or WO level (these are incomprehensible Dutch concepts, or at least I don’t quite get them) he may well have the equivalent of a US bachelors degree. Completing the program at those levels gets you the equivalent of a US masters degree.
At least if he did all that since the 80s sometime.
I don’t understand enough about the system to give good cites, what I do know is that there are companies whose business it is to look at your transcripts and tell you what degree equivalent you have in the other country. My JD from the US was “translated” into Dutch as an MBA with a concentration in international law and policy, for example. My husband’s single degree in physics from Holland wound up being the equivalent of two degrees in the US: one in physics and one in engineering.
SP, I’m touched that, not only aren’t you sneering at us for being monolingual, but you actually want to leave bicycles, marijuana, Spinoza, and well-built dykes to join Sarah Palin and the rest of our little lunatic asylum. I’d let you in. INS couldn’t care less what I think, though; and I’m a married man, so I can’t marry you to help out.