The Best U.S. Immigration Visa For Foreign Investors Involving Start Ups – Forbes
When a foreign investor decides to come to America, he or she must choose the best visa to … [+] accomplish the goal. This is particularly true when it comes to a new start up business.
Investors looking to immigrate to the United States, particularly ones who are thinking about starting a new business, start by searching for what options are open to them. Often they start with the EB-5 investor immigration program that leads to a green card. For many, this is the gold standard of investor immigration options. But for others, the minimum required investment of $ 900,000 is too much. They then turn to other alternatives. That is when they discover the L-1 and E-2 work visas as possibilities.
The L-1 and the E-2 work visas can be used for new start-ups in America and do not require nearly as much investment as the EB-5 program. Indeed, investors can get by with as little as an investment of $ 100,000 U.S. or less, depending on the proposed business. Note, however, that unlike the EB-5 program that leads to a green card, these are only work visas and do not result in permanent residence. It is difficult to discern the differences between these two work visas to decide which one to choose. It may therefore be worthwhile to look at the distinguishing features of these options more carefully to determine which one is best for a foreign investor.
Inter-corporate transfers involve a move from abroad to the USA.
To best understand the L-1 visa, think of the analogy of Toyota transferring a manager or executive from Japan to America to manage a car plant here. This is a classic U.S. inter-corporate L-1 work visa transfer. The requirement is that the manager or executive should have worked for at least one year out of the last three years for an affiliated company abroad before coming to manage the related company in the U.S. As mentioned, the L-1 can also be used for an American start-up. The most important thing about this visa is that applicants from pretty much any country in the world can qualify to come to the U.S. so long as they were managers or executives in their home country. Although not absolutely necessary legally speaking, to be successful it helps if the foreign entity has been in existence for several years, has say at least five employees, and has filed several years worth of tax and employment returns. The existence of such a track record will help to support a successful application.
The L-1 work visa has a maximum duration of seven years for managers and executives. The process begins with a petition filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in the United States. The approval of the visa involves a review of the corporate and financial records of both the foreign affiliated company as well as the U.S. company, or in the case of a start-up, the business plan for the U.S. company. Although not technically required, it is helpful if the new U.S. entity has established an office where it will be doing its business. Once the petition is approved the foreign manager or executive must apply for the visa at a U.S. consulate abroad before seeking to enter the U.S. There is an exception in the case of Canadians—they only do not need to go through a Consulate but can apply for the visa right at the U.S. port of entry with their approved L-1 petition from the USCIS. Note that after one successful year in the U.S., it is possible for the applicant to apply for a green card.
E-2 visas involve investment treaties the U.S. has signed with countries abroad
In the case of an E-2 visa, on the other hand, the investor has to be a citizen of a country with an investment treaty with the United States. Visas are usually issued to managers, executives or investors in the start-up for five years and are renewable indefinitely. As mentioned before, the L-1 visa involves a review of the investor’s business past, but the E-2 visa is all about the investor’s future—mainly based either on a business plan or on a purchase of a business. All applicants, including Canadians, must apply through a U.S. Consulate to get the visa.Continue reading at Technotushar.com
Source: The Best U.S. Immigration Visa For Foreign Investors Involving Start Ups – Forbes
The Best U.S. Immigration Visa For Foreign Investors Involving Start Ups – Forbes
