Due to U.S. immigration issues, many of our clients will create and begin to build their business from another country, such as France, Belgium, Switzerland, Argentina, Colombia, Canada,Turkey, etc., before applying for a U.S. Visa, such as a B-visa or E2 Visa, or Legal Permanent Residence, such as through an EB5 visa. When you are creating and investing in a business, there will inevitably be funds that need to be transferred between countries and accounts for bills and other various situations.
So how do you manage these large money transfers when you are an ocean away?
The first thing that most of the world uses, the IBAN system is not used in the U.S. Instead, the SWIFT method is how money is transferred internationally to the U.S.
The other aspect is that wires in the U.S. are not sent to a specific branch, i.e. 123 Main St., Miami but merely to the “main” bank. For Wells Fargo, its address is in San Francisco, SunTrust in Atlanta, Chase in New York, etc.
Major international business transactions are usually done via wire transfers. A wire transfer is the electronic transfer of funds from one person or institution to another. In most cases, wire transfers are done between institutions, namely banks, who charge a fee for this service.
When you make a wire transfer, it is important to preemptively research these fees, as they vary depending on the institution, location, and more. The best way to do this is to verify the fees with BOTH of the institutions you will be dealing with, i.e. the bank you are transferring the money from and the bank to which you are transferring the money. If you do not account for these fees when making a wire transfer, then your payment will be for a lesser amount than you intended.
Wire transfers are used for situations such as:
– Purchasing Real Estate
– Purchasing a Business
– Transferring Funds into your U.S. Business Account or another U.S. Bank Account
– Making a deposit into an Escrow Account
– Making a payment to your attorney
– Paying court fees
– And more
