Watch: Hong Kong Visa Options
D&A were my guiding light through the EB5 Process. They were my Florence Nightingale
– EB5 Client from Hong KongD&A Hong Kong
Hong Kong is experiencing a rapid growth in the number of people seeking to emigrate. Changes to the political landscape are causing many among the population to look overseas. The United States is of particular interest and we are seeing an increasing number of people enlist the services of Davies & Associates, not only for securing their Hong Kong visas, but also for providing corporate legal support and tax advice as they begin their new endeavours. Our experts can help you understand all the Hong Kong visa requirements you will need to meet, whether you need a Hong Kong tourist visa or a more permanent solution.
United States Visa Options for Hong Kong Nationals and Residents
EB5 Visa for Citizens of Hong Kong
Since July 2020, Hong Kong is not treated as its own country for EB-5 purposes. Executive Order 13936, the "Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization," signed 14 July 2020, suspended the preferential treatment Hong Kong received under Section 201(a) of the United States–Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992. Under section 103 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (8 U.S.C. § 1152 note), applicants born in Hong Kong are now chargeable to mainland China for immigrant-visa purposes, EB-5 included.
In practice, this means a Hong Kong-born investor filing in the standard (unreserved) EB-5 category faces the same backlog as a mainland China-born investor — commonly described as China's EB-5 retrogression. The U.S. Department of State's September 2026 Visa Bulletin lists a Final Action Date of 1 December 2016 for China-mainland-born unreserved EB-5 applicants, a wait of roughly a decade from priority date to visa availability.
There is a current, faster alternative, however. The EB-5 reserved categories created by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 — rural area, high-unemployment area (TEA), and infrastructure project investments — are marked Current ("C") for every chargeability area, China included, in the same September 2026 Visa Bulletin. A Hong Kong-born investor who directs their investment into a qualifying reserved-category project is not subject to this backlog.
L1 Visa & E2 Visas from Hong Kong
D&A has a large L1 Visa & E2 Visa Processing Team spread across the United States. We have helped hundreds of people open a new US branch of an existing business in the United States and then transferred them to live there on an L1 Hong Kong work visa. The E2 visa, which allows a person to move to the United States for the purpose of owning and operating a business, is not currently open to citizens of Hong Kong, but we are able to troubleshoot option for making our Hong Kong clients eligible. The L1 and E2 US visas for Hong Kong often allow the holders spouse to work in the United States.
Learn More about the E2 visa
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Corporate & Tax Work
As a full-service law firm, D&A is able to offer our Hong Kong clients a range of extended services. Our corporate law team can help with the setting up of a business that is necessary to comply with the visa, and can also offer ongoing legal services as our clients continue their journey in the United States. This includes helping to plan for the US tax system before moving and filing once there.
UK Options for Hong Kong Residents
Given the historic and special relationship between Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, the UK has made special immigration options available for Hong Kong residents.
One of these options gives British Nationals (overseas) the possibility of obtaining a British Nationals (overseas) visa, or “BNO” visa, to relocate to the United Kingdom.
D&A’s London office is familiar with the BNO visa and other UK immigration options for Hong Kong residents and work with our team in Kowloon to assist our clients in Hong Kong with a visa to the UK.
Citizenship by Investment Options for Hong Kong Nationals and
Residents
Some of our Hong Kong clients want a quick, effective route to another passport. We are able to support our clients whichever Citizenship or Residency program they choose. For those clients who have not chosen, we often recommend the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Programme. This is a fast, cost-effective program that offers a strong passport and access to the USA under the E2 Visa program.
Grenada's program currently runs two routes: a National Transformation Fund contribution of $235,000 (covering a single applicant or a family of up to four), or a real estate investment of $270,000 (shared ownership) or $350,000 (full ownership). Processing typically takes around seven months. Grenada is an E-2 treaty country with the United States, so Grenadian citizenship can in principle support an E-2 application.
That route is materially slower than it was before December 2022. The James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 — the provision the immigration press has nicknamed the "AMIGOS Act" — amended INA § 101(a)(15)(E) (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(E)) to require that anyone who obtained treaty-country nationality through a financial investment programme, Grenada's included, must first have been domiciled in that country for a continuous period of at least three years before filing for E status (unless they already previously held E status). Domicile is a legal test — principal, permanent home — not a day-count of visits, and evidence such as housing, employment, schooling and banking ties in Grenada during that period is what USCIS and consular officers look for. For a Hong Kong resident considering this route, realistic timing to E-2 eligibility is measured in years, and it should be planned alongside — not instead of — the direct EB-5 and L-1 routes above.
Consular Locations
The United States Consulate in Hong Kong is located at:
U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong & Macau
26 Garden Road
Central, Hong Kong
Phone: +852 2523-9011
Fax: +852 2845-1598
The UK Consulate is located at:
Supreme Court Road
Admiralty
Hong Kong
Telephone :+ (852) 2901 3000
Fax : + (852) 2901 3204
Award-Winning E-2 Lawyer
We are privileged to have been named one of the top three E-2 visa law firms in London, Paris and New York by Global Citizenship Services. This independent recognition reflects our experience advising treaty investors and entrepreneurs worldwide, including Hong Kong residents.
We are also proud to have been recognised as a Global Top 25 Investment Visa Law Firm for seven years by EB5 Investors Magazine.
Page revision history
- 5 September 2026: Hong Kong Visa Options video actually embedded above the page content (prior "video added" note was inaccurate).
- 2 September 2026: Author line set out on separate rows.
- 2 September 2026: Contact form matched to the sitewide floating style.
- 2 September 2026: Form set to header navy; Hong Kong and USA preset; subject dropdown enabled.
- 2 September 2026: Contact form restyled; meta title and description optimised.
- 2 September 2026: Header contact form, awards and media panels added.
- 2 September 2026: New deeper hero and credential strip launched.
- 2 September 2026: Hero image sizing corrected to match the standard page banner dimensions.
- 1 September 2026: Author line added; flags relocated; EB-5/Grenada content and video added.
Contact Davies & Associates Offices in United States
Check all of our locations around the world.
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New York Office World Trade Center
1 World Trade Center, Suite 8500, New York, NY 10007
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200 E 69th Street, 2N, New York, NY 10022
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555 Anton Blvd, Suite 150, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
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155 N. Upper Wacker Dr., Suite 4250, Chicago, IL 60606
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80 S.W. 8th St., Suite 2000, Miami, FL 33130
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1075 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 3650, Atlanta, GA 30309
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New York Office World Trade Center
+1 212 537 9196
Fax: +1 949 396 1371
New York Office E69th Street
+1 212 537 9196
Fax: +1 949 396 1371
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+1 949 620 1811
Fax: +1 949 396 1371
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+1 215 525 1881
Fax: +1 949 396 1371
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+1 312 261 8560
Fax: +1 949 396 1371
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786 490 2661
Fax: +1 949 396 1371
