Talking about migration to United States today without talking about immigration control, estate planning strategy, and asset protection in United States is like watching only half of the movie. In 2025, the combination of more reviews, more data cross-checks, and more discretion for authorities is redefining how families, executives, investors, and global companies relate to the immigration system and to their assets.

The data confirms it: at the beginning of 2025, the immigrant population reached an all-time high and, a few months later, declined for the first time in more than half a century. Around 51.9 million immigrants reside in the country, which is about 15.4% of the total population and approximately 19% of the workforce. In other words, almost one out of every five workers is an immigrant and, even so, the total number of foreign-born residents has begun to decrease due to stricter measures and an environment of heightened immigration control.

At the same time, workplace supervision has ramped up significantly: authorities have increased the number of I-9 audits, inspection notices, and the potential amount of fines, which can approach 30,000 dollars per violation. In some recent cases, total penalties against a small group of companies have exceeded 8 million dollars after a single round of audits. That is not a minor message for employers who sponsor work visas or depend on international talent.

In parallel, a new proposed public charge rule seeks to repeal the 2022 regulation and give officers broad discretion again to evaluate economic factors, use of certain programs, and long-term health conditions in admission and residency decisions. In practical terms, this means greater weight on financial history, economic stability, and the consistency between the immigration file and the actual asset profile of each person or family.

In this context, immigration control, estate planning strategy, and asset protection in United States are no longer separate chapters. They are the same book.

Immigration control, estate planning strategy, and asset protection in United States

The new immigration control environment can be summed up in three ideas:

More data, more cross-checks.
Immigration, tax, employment, and banking information are increasingly talking to one another. Any inconsistency between what was declared in a visa petition, a tax return, or a corporate agreement can raise questions.

More focus on the employer.
Companies face intense scrutiny of their hiring processes, eligibility verification, and visa sponsorship practices. It is not just about “avoiding mistakes,” but about proving that there is a real compliance program in place.

More financial discretion.
The proposed new public charge rule opens the door to a broader assessment of financial circumstances and use of certain benefits, which turns asset organization into a directly relevant factor for migration to United States.

When you look at the full picture, it becomes clear that a visa cannot be designed in isolation from the asset structure, and asset protection cannot be designed in isolation from the immigration plan.

When migration touches your wealth

International estate planning is no longer an issue reserved for large anonymous fortunes. It is a day-to-day reality for:

• Business families that diversify their wealth between their country of origin and United States.

• Senior professionals with compensation packages based on stock, RSUs, or equity in startups.

• Transferee executives with L-1, E-2, or EB-1/EB-2 categories who combine income and tax obligations in multiple countries.

Experts in cross-border estate planning repeat the same idea: a plan that works in one country can fail in another because of differences in forced heirship rules, tax residence, marital property regimes, or inheritance and gift taxes. In addition, some institutions can block access to accounts or assets until local requirements are met, even when a valid trust or will exists in another jurisdiction.

In other words, what we call “asset protection” today is no longer just about shielding against litigation; it is also about preventing legal differences between countries from jeopardizing access to assets or distorting how an estate is distributed. And when this scenario overlaps with a migration process to United States, the level of complexity increases if there is no clear estate planning strategy in place.

What global families are already doing

If we look at how families and companies with an international footprint are reacting, clear patterns emerge:

Integrated architecture, not loose pieces.
Instead of having a company created just to “check the box” for an investor visa on one side and a succession plan designed only for the country of origin on the other, they design a complete architecture: entities, trusts, and investment vehicles that work both for immigration control and for asset protection and succession.

Coherent narrative.
The story told in a business plan for an E-2, in an EB-5 file, or in an extraordinary ability case must match the way the family or company actually generates income, distributes profits, and makes decisions. That same narrative appears in contracts, powers of attorney, shareholder agreements, and succession documents.

Preventive asset protection.
Asset protection structures are being built ahead of conflicts: they are designed before litigation or investigations arise, and calibrated based on how they will be viewed by immigration authorities as well as civil or tax courts in different countries.

Under this approach, immigration control, estate planning strategy, and asset protection in United States stop being three separate conversations and become just one.

Investor, talent, and employment visas inside an estate planning strategy

For an investor considering an E-2 or EB-5 visa, for example, an appealing business plan and proof of lawful source of funds are no longer enough. There are additional questions that, in a context of reinforced immigration control, become unavoidable:

• In what vehicle will the equity stake be held?

• How will the flows between the company in United States and entities or accounts in other countries be documented?

• What happens, from an estate standpoint, if the key person for the operation faces a health contingency, a change in immigration status, or decides to step away?

For a professional with a talent visa or an EB-1/EB-2 category, the intersection between migration and assets is just as clear:

• How does variable compensation (bonuses, stock, equity) integrate into the family’s succession plan?

• What is the tax and estate impact of moving from temporary status to permanent residence?

• What does this imply for asset protection against future creditors or potential claims?

And for companies that sponsor H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN visas or EB-2/EB-3 processes, the tightening of I-9 audits and workplace inspections turns immigration compliance into a central component of corporate risk strategy. A significant fine, a temporary loss of the ability to sponsor visas, or the unexpected departure of key personnel due to a status issue can directly erode the company’s value and, therefore, the owners’ wealth.

What families and companies in Latin America can do

For families and companies in Latin America that are looking toward migration to United States, the starting point is simple but demanding: stop viewing each process as an isolated filing and move to an integrated view of the asset and immigration map.

Some practical questions:

• Is there a clear map of global assets, indicating in which country they are located, under which legal structure, and who the real beneficiary is?

• Does what has been declared in visa petitions match the real structure of companies, accounts, and income flows?

• Were wills, trusts, shareholder agreements, and powers of attorney drafted with the legal reality of United States in mind, or only with the country of origin in mind?

• Does the company have clear policies for visa sponsorship, I-9 compliance, internal training, and response to audits or inspections?

Answering these questions honestly is the first step for transforming a set of scattered procedures into a true strategy of immigration control, estate planning strategy, and asset protection in United States.

The role of a firm that understands migration and wealth

In this scenario, it is crucial to work with a legal team that can see the whole board, not just one square. The value is not only in filing a visa, forming an LLC, or drafting a will, but in aligning those pieces under a common logic.

At LOIGICA® this means integrating, in a single analysis:

• The design of the appropriate immigration path (investment, talent, employment, or family).

• The structuring of entities, contracts, and estate vehicles that can withstand immigration, tax, and civil scrutiny.

• The implementation of true asset protection that works at an international level, not just in one country.

The conclusion is clear: in an environment of reinforced immigration control, the best defense is not reacting case by case, but building an integrated strategy in which immigration control, estate planning strategy, and asset protection in United States are part of the same plan, designed for the long term for your family, your companies, and your legacy.