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Our immigration law team is ready and waiting to assist you — at your convenience and on your schedule. If you or someone you know is facing an immigration matter, contact Tully Rinckey today.
Immigrant entrepreneurs and investors are critical to the United States economy. According to the National Immigration Forum immigrants “are overrepresented in our labor force, relative to their share of the population, but they also have a higher propensity to launch businesses, compared to those born in the United States.” Entrepreneurs face unique immigration challenges to establish their business in the United States or expand in a new market. Securing an immigration solution to start their business is one part of a myriad of challenges they face. We offer strategic immigration advice to entrepreneurs in setting up their enterprise and also maintain compliance through the life of the business.
Although not a visa that allows for “work” the B1 visa is a crucial tool for Entrepreneurs to allow them to visit the United States to take critical preparatory steps for their business.
For citizens of eligible countries, the E-2 Treaty Investor Visa allows for relatively quick solution for investors who are ready to begin their business enterprise in the United States.
For citizens of eligible countries, the E-2 Treaty Investor Visa allows for relatively quick solution for investors who are ready to begin their business enterprise in the United States.
Although not traditionally accepted as a path for entrepreneurs the USCIS will accept petitions filed by a company formed and owned by the beneficiary. But there must be a valid employer-employee relationship i.e. the entrepreneur must become an employee of the U.S. company and that company must demonstrate control is not centered in the entrepreneur.
In certain circumstances entrepreneurs with a proven track record in their field may be eligible to obtain and O-1A visa as an alien of extraordinary ability.
The EB-5 visa is a challenging to obtain for smaller scale investors. There is a limit on the number of EB-5 visas per year of 10,000 and certain countries face backlogs due to over subscription. Entrepreneurs must meet the following requirements: Make an investment of $1.8 million or more a valid business enterprise. That amount is lowered to $900,000 for investments in targeted employment areas (TEA). Further, the business must create or maintain 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers. The EB-5 process is complex and there are numerous large scale capital investment projects as well as smaller scale projects for the hands off investor.
Entrepreneurs potentially can qualify for greencards based on their qualifications, the economic benefit of their enterprise or even their investment in certain circumstances. Often overlooked, direct paths to a greencard can be efficient options for entrepreneurs.
Numerous proposals to encourage immigrant entrepreneurs have been proposed in the last few years. Proposals have included new visa types, specific employment documents and other types of benefits.
Our immigration law team is ready and waiting to assist you — at your convenience and on your schedule. If you or someone you know is facing an immigration matter, contact Tully Rinckey today.