PRESENTED BY - NLI · E;2!Visa:!Basic!Requirements! /! •...
48
PRESENTED BY: Sponsored by:
Transcript of PRESENTED BY - NLI · E;2!Visa:!Basic!Requirements! /! •...
PRESENTED BY:
Sponsored by:
Overview of U.S. Visa Op1ons for Foreign Entrepreneurs with Real-‐Life Case
Examples
2
The Entrepreneur and “The American Dream”
3
• Origins/Introduc.on • “Outside-‐In Immigra.on” – Originates overseas • Merriam Webster defines “Entrepreneur” as “one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.” • The “American Dream” takes many forms, both personal and collec.ve, including:
• A company/concept/brand/product launch in the U.S. • Establishment of a U.S. subsidiary of a foreign business • Investment in projects which create jobs • An individual’s ability to enter the U.S. legally and remain for short term, long term, and poten.ally permanently -‐ through visas, green cards, and eventually ci.zenship
E-‐2 Visa: Basic Requirements
• Na1onality of sponsored individuals MUST have corresponding treaty with U.S. It’s as simple as looking at the current Department of State list.
• Dual na1onality -‐ can choose country which has bilateral treaty with U.S. (e.g. foreign na1onal has Russian ci1zenship, so he/she would not qualify due to lack of U.S. treaty with U.S., but if he/she has ci1zenship from a treat country, like France, for example, they can apply under that passport and qualify);
• This rules out approximately 60% of the world’s countries and ¾ of the world’s popula1on, since India and PRC do not have a treaty with the U.S.
• “Na1onality” of U.S. company – at least 50% of U.S. enterprise must be owned by na1onals/companies of the treaty country
4
• Treaty “na1onality” must be maintained– the U.S. en1ty must always con1nue to maintain treaty na1on’s na1onality by never ceding more than 50% of ownership to na1onals from other countries: Two specific scenarios where this is challenging: 1) Joint Venture – 50% treaty na.on-‐owned and 50% owned by na.onals from one other treaty country Allows na1onals from BOTH to get visas as principal investors, supervisors or essen1al employees – but if this delicate balance is shided AT ALL, for example treaty na1on company sells 10% of it shares, the U.S. en1ty ceases to have treaty na1onality and its exis1ng E2s are voided 2) Companies seeking venture capital – Generally the U.S. en1ty is 100% owned by same country na1onals when founded. IF shares are sold to investors – 50% MUST remain treaty na1on-‐owned or treaty na1onals cannot be employed by the U.S. en1ty under E2
5
• Visas based on investment can exist only as long as the U.S. en1ty does: If the U.S. company ceases to exist, so do all visas based on that company
• Three categories of individuals can receive an E-‐2 visa: 1) principal investor to be able to “direct and develop” the U.S. en1ty; or 2) for a supervisor (execu1ve or manager) ; or 3) for an employee essen1al to the company, like technical trainer for patented sodware
• Extremely versa1le visa: Can also be used for launch of U.S. office/flagship store of foreign business, a new concept launch, or the purchase of exis1ng business or franchise
6
• U.S. company serves as sponsor for the visa pe11on • Na1onality of U.S. company must match its E-‐visa
sponsored employees • 50/50 Joint Ventures – company may have 2 different
na1onali1es but 50% must be applicant’s home country; • No limit to number of renewals as long as the sponsoring
business is opera1ng successfully, crea1ng/maintaining jobs and paying taxes
• Applica1ons can be filed directly at the U.S. embassy, consular sec1on, of the corresponding country, which may be faster and less expensive to process. Each Embassy has its own processing rules and requirements, but applicable laws are the same.
• Spouse of visa holders can obtain employment authoriza1on and can work independently.
7
Requirements • A “substan.al investment” must be commiled to the U.S.
en1ty – this comprises start-‐up costs & 1st-‐year opera1ng costs, with the expecta1on of revenue being generate by the end of year 1. This varies case-‐by-‐case.
• Investment cannot be “marginal” – It must benefit the U.S. economy, not just the beneficiaries of the visa – job crea1on, revenue genera1on/taxes are necessary for visa renewals and demonstrate that the venture is not marginal
• Funds must be “commiWed”-‐ Funds mee1ng the substan1ality test (or combina1on of goods/equipment and capital) threshold must be deposited into the bank account for the U.S. en1ty. Must show proof of wire from origin account and receipt of same funds in U.S. account. If investment comprises goods/equipment good to have proof and CPA leler.
8
• Funds must be placed “at risk” – Essen1ally this means that the funds are set into mo1on, to pay for a leased office space, for start-‐up costs. Should correspond to the ini1al steps set forth in 5-‐year business plan.
• Source of Funds– Requirement is to show that the funds were legally obtained. Advisable to get CPA leler and proof of income/capital used to fund the investment –If a gid, then original source of funds must be shown. This may mean going back as much as ten years to account for all funds which cons1tute the ini1al investment.
9
Examples of E-‐2 Businesses • Mexican na1onal purchases 3 branches of Crunch gym
• German na1onal signs franchise agreement to set up first exclusive retail store for Asian bath and body product company
• Taiwanese na1onal buys 80% stake in chain of language centers
• Pakistani na1onal buys a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise • Singapore company launches U.S. web-‐based mobile applica1on company
• UK women’s apparel company launches U.S. stores
10
• Dutch hotel company opens U.S. construc1on and design management firm
• Israeli na1onal with French na1onality opens an Israeli bakery
• Egyp1an na1onal opens business consul1ng company • Turkish na1onal launches ceramic 1le and kitchen appliance company
• Thai na1onal launches jewelry design start-‐up • Canadian na1onal buys gas sta1on business • Danish restaurant consul1ng company launches U.S. office
• Italian na1onal and Iranian na1onal launch 50/50 joint venture for fashion business
11
E-‐2: Step-‐by-‐Step Case Example • Mexican na1onal decides to invest in a Gym franchise • U.S. en1ty is incorporated, gets tax ID and bank account for
en1ty • Principal Investment is made – funds are “commiled” by
wiring them into U.S. en1ty’s bank account • U.S. company signs and executes the franchise agreement,
pays franchise fee and procures office space to manage its build-‐out, and thus has put the funds “at risk”
• Principal Investment amount is “substan1al”, cons1tu1ng more than start-‐up and first year opera1ng costs, including the franchise fee
• E-‐2 visa pe11on and business plan with five-‐year projec1ons are prepared
12
• Since he is in the U.S. currently on an H-‐1B visa, he applies with USCIS in conjunc1on with a change of status.
• The pe11on is approved and he is given E-‐2 status for 2 years as a “principal investor” . His wife also gets E-‐2 visa status then applies for employment authoriza1on.
• Later on, when he has to leave the country, a pe11on is filed at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, and he goes to his interview and they get their visas for five years.
• Ader expanding to three gyms under the same corpora1on, he starts planning on how to “convert” his E-‐2 into a green card.
13
Investment: EB-‐5 Investor Green Card Founda.on: • U.S. business or project in U.S. which will create at a minimum of at
least 10 full-‐1me jobs per investor • Investor must invest minimum US$500,000 or US$1 million
depending on whether the area where jobs will be created is in a Targeted Economic Area (“TEA”)
• Investor must be able to show legal source of funds Suspension Mechanism: How to Keep Green Card • U.S. en1ty/investment vehicle must con1nue to exist throughout
the condi1onal green card phase. • The minimum ten jobs must be created before the condi1onal
green card is converted to a permanent green card. Note: Whether the investment is profitable is irrelevant. Job crea1on
minimum being met is deciding factor to be able to get permanent residence.
14
Real-‐Life EB-‐5 Case: Background Story
• Mr. Wu, 48 years old, is na1onal of the People’s Republic of China (PRC); His daughter, Jen, is currently a sophomore studying Bus. Admin. in U.S. university on F-‐1 visa, and he has a wife and two addi1onal children under 18 living with him.
• Mr. Wu is a rural farm-‐owner with a successful opera1on. • Mr. Wu bought a property for his farming business in 1999
for the equivalent of US$140,000 and has made several addi1onal land purchases and sales since, including the property where they built a house and now reside.
• Mrs. Wu has earned a steady salary in her administra1ve job at a manufacturing plant for the past decade.
15
• Jen aspires to remain in the U.S. ader she finishes school, but gesng a job and visa sponsorship is difficult and the visa typically used for employment of foreign university graduates, the H-‐1B, is limited by an inadequate annual cap and no-‐guarantee lolery system
• Jen would consider running a family-‐owned business in the future, but since the PRC does not have a E-‐2 treaty investor visa with the U.S., she cannot apply for that visa based on investment in a business.
• Currently, the Wu’s have more than $500,000 in savings and property holdings, but under $1 million
16
Step 1: Choosing the Investment Vehicle • The Wu’s begin to research possible investment projects
where they could invest money in order to procure Green Cards for the family. They alend a large exposi1on on EB-‐5, filled with Regional Centers promo1ng their projects and promising quick processing and easily mee1ng the job crea1on requirement for all investors. However, Jen wants to use her educa1on and apply it hands-‐on to a business venture. Mr. and Mrs. Wu are unsure of the security of their assets.
• A friend of a friend of Mr. Wu tells him about a chance to invest in a franchise restaurant ownership opportunity in the Bronx, which will create 15 full-‐1me jobs and therefore can accommodate one EB-‐5 investor.
17
• Since the Bronx is designated a TEA, this direct investment project allows the Wu’s to invest the lower threshold of $500,000 to open and run a franchise restaurant loca1on
-‐-‐ Based on their desire to be entrepreneurs and distrust of unknown projects and in light of horror stories about EB-‐5 regional center scams, the Wu’s chose this project. They sign the required documents with the project and began to plan the rigorous and complex process of making the investment.
18
Step 2: Procurement and Source of Funds
• The Wu’s had to first put all their funds in one place, and sell their principal proper1es. Ader doing so they were able to begin the movement of funds.
• The Wu’s were required to document the source of all the funds used for the EB-‐5 investment, including proof of purchase and sale of proper1es over the last two decades, including proof of income for Mrs. Wu’s job and Mr. Wu’s farming business.
• This informa1on was analyzed, cer1fied and catalogued comprehensively in a Source of Funds report, which would be required in the EB-‐5 applica1on.
19
Step 3: Making The Investment: Transfer of Funds from Source to EB-‐5 Project
• Since the PRC limits the amount of foreign currency that any one individual resident may purchase and transfer out of the PRC to USD $50,000 per year, Mr. Wu, as principal investor, had first had to transfer the money to 10 friends and family in parcels of the equivalent of US$50,000.
• Those individuals converted the funds to U.S. dollars and then transferred those funds to an account set up in Hong Kong. The total of all those funds was then finally transferred to the EB-‐5 project’s escrow account. This process took approximately two months to coordinate and finish.
20
Step 4:Submisng the I-‐526 Applica1on
• The immigra1on alorneys prepared the I-‐526 Immigrant Investor Applica1on. The pe11on included, among other things:
1) The Source of Funds report, including a thorough paper trail tracing all of the funds lawfully obtained by the Wu’s from their original sources, proof of all wires from Mr. Wu to friends and family, to the Hong Kong account, and finally the EB-‐5 project escrow account.
2) All corporate documents, agreements, cer1fica1ons and licenses required for the project to operate and for Mr. Wu to par1cipate in the business as investor.
21
3)Economist’s report 4)Business Plan 5) Personal documents for Mr. Wu and all dependents (Mr. Wu was chief applicant)
• The applica1on was submiled and approved 1 year ader submission.
• Mr. Wu and his family applied for their visas at the U.S. embassy in Guangzhou. Based on her father’s approved green card, Jen applied for adjustment of status in the U.S. and received her condi1onal green card six months later.
22
Step 5:Submisng the I-‐829 Pe11on to Remove Condi1ons
• An I-‐829 applica.on was submiWed before the family’s condi.onal resident status had reached the 2-‐year mark, at which .me he had to document that minimum 10 jobs were created as a result of his investment.
• Mr. Wu had to include proof of job crea.on through payroll records and tax returns and also included bank statements, invoices, contracts and tax returns for the EB-‐5 project. Jen and Mrs. Wu were working for the company but could not be counted towards the job crea.on requirement.
• The applica.on was approved and the Wu’s received a permanent Green Card and would be eligible to apply for U.S. ci.zenship at the five-‐year mark of gecng their condi.onal green card.
23
Final Notes on EB-‐5 • 1) EB-‐5 investments can be used by entrepreneurs who want a
hands-‐on role in the management of the business or can be largely passive in nature, where the investor invests the funds and has no contact with the project.
• 2) Job crea1on is the single-‐most important factor to keep in mind when choosing a project. Business models which depend on manpower from day 1 of opera1ons, like restaurants, hotels, resorts, hospitals and assisted living centers, are ideal for EB-‐5.
• 3) The restric1ons on movement of funds for PRC na1onals represents perhaps the most complicated path to transfer of funds to the EB-‐5 projects and was used for illustra1ve purposes. One must know how to maneuver those kinds of roadblocks depending on where the funds come from. No maler what, all sources of funds must be thoroughly documented.
24
4) Beware of promises of accelerated processing – All EB-‐5 visa applica1ons are processed in the order in which they are received and cannot receive preferen1al treatment.
5) Beware of investments at the $1 million mark 6) Beware of projects which do not hold the investment in escrow un1l the I-‐526 is approved, thus not protec1ng the funds during adjudica1on. This has become a trend since the economic recession in 2008 caused complementary funding to dry up and with delays in I-‐526 processing.
25
Using Foreign Companies as a Platorm: L-‐1 Visa and EB-‐1 Green Cards – Intra-‐Company Transfer Founda1on for Visa: • Existence of Foreign Company and Directly-‐Related U.S. En1ty is Required • Foreign company must have existed for at least one year before applying and
employees to be transferred must have worked for at least 1 con1nuous year in the past 3 years for foreign en1ty – can be any branch worldwide
Suspension Mechanism: • Foreign en1ty must con1nue to func1on for dura1on of visa and rela1onship
between foreign and U.S. en1ty must to con1nue exist – if these condi1ons cease to be met the bridge collapses and the visas 1ed to it do as well
• If the U.S. en1ty is sold to another company, the bridge also collapses • Generally the foreign company is the parent company, wholly owning and
controlling the U.S. subsidiary
26
• The employee to be transferred must have been employed abroad in an "execu1ve" or "managerial" posi1on (L-‐1A) or a posi1on involving "specialized knowledge." (L-‐1B)
• L-‐1A: Whether the posi1on is execu1ve or managerial is defined by its du1es and responsibili1es. Generally, A manager tends to deal more with personnel supervision and an execu1ve supervises the managers and handles policy and nego1a1ons for the company with other companies.
• In many cases the posi1on for a new company is a Country Manager or Regional Manager and the execu1ves remain overseas (See FAM for expanded discussion)
• In the case of smaller companies, owners/founders of the overseas en1ty oden come to the U.S. as the first L visa holder for the U.S. en1ty, to lay the founda1on for U.S. business
27
• L-‐1B: “Specialized Knowledge” – FAM defines this as....”??” – It’s a mystery!! So what is this in prac1ce?
• – If the person will not occupy a managerial or execu1ve func1on, and
has not done so overseas, then this is the only op1on – so argument must be made that they have knowledge of a product, system, sodware, etc. that is singular, unique and proprietary to the foreign company and that therefore only they are qualified (and not a U.S. Hire) and their presence is needed in the U.S.
-‐-‐ This creates a Slippery Slope – Loose defini1on means room for more crea1vity in presen1ng arguments. It also means that USCIS has greater margin to deny on subjec1ve grounds!
-‐-‐This has also become problema1c when renewing the visas – USCIS
wants to know why US ci1zens could not be trained to obtain this specialized knowledge
-‐-‐ End Result: Reduc1on in L-‐1B pe11ons and distrust for the process
28
– the Execu1ve Ac1on on immigra1on reform announced November 20, 2014, under part 4 of the ini1a1ve on the USCIS website en1tled “Modernize, improve and clarify immigrant and nonimmigrant visa programs to grow our economy and create jobs” addresses this lack of clarity, which has led employers to not apply for L-‐1B visas, by sta1ng this objec1ve:
“Provide clear, consolidated guidance on the meaning of “specialized knowledge” to bring greater clarity and integrity to the L-‐1B program, improve consistency in adjudica.ons, and enhance companies’ confidence in the program.”
29
Examples of L-‐1B cases -‐-‐ Examples of L-‐1b cases I have presented: 1) Korean company which fabricates agricultural equipment and has
over 200 patents on their products – L-‐1B specialized knowledge employee supervises team which handles repair of the products in the U.S
2) Israeli Chain of Bakeries – L-‐1B for pastry chef – Argued that head pastry chef for chain was necessary because the US business was going to sell pastries based on his proprietary recipes and he had to teach the staff how to make them his way
3) Argen1ne company which creates sodware-‐based applica1ons for virtual commercial shopping platorms transfers its head sodware sales team manager to the U.S. to run sodware sales team
30
Observa1ons on L-‐1: • Dura1on of first L-‐1 visa depends on how long the U.S.
en1ty has existed before applying: – Less than 1 year is “New Office”: ini1al visas can be granted for only 1 year
– If more than 1 year, visas can be granted for an ini1al period of three years
Why Is this significant? -‐ Requirement for renewal for L-‐1A is the manager or execu1ve’s “Removal from Day-‐to-‐Day Ac1vi1es” -‐ this essen1ally means that they are strictly managing and not handling the minu1a of business
-‐ “New Office” visa for one year means an extremely difficult standard to meet in one year
31
– Short and long-‐term strategy must be in place and the 1ming of the visa applica1on is very important
– Solu1on can be to establish the company first and then apply for visas ader one year
– A visa for 3 years also gives the company enough 1me to apply for and receive green cards for L-‐1A managers and execu1ves
– Planning short-‐term and long-‐term simultaneously and proper .ming can keep the sponsoring business and the visas the company needs in place
– If eventual green cards are not a priority, then E2 may be preferable category (assuming country eligibility and posi.on), as you have five years un.l renewal
32
L-‐1: Step-‐by-‐Step Case Example • Foreign hotel company founded in 1998 and success includes expansion to
several other countries • Business plan created for expansion of business to U.S. and U.S. en1ty is
incorporated as subsidiary of Dutch company • Manager travels to U.S. on visa waiver/ESTA or a B1 visa to lay
groundwork for U.S. en1ty • Ader U.S. en1ty has been in existence for one year, applies for L-‐1 visa,
which is granted for three-‐year period • Manager goes to interview at US Embassy and receives visa • Hierarchy is created where he/she is eventually removed from day-‐to-‐day
ac1vi1es and is supervising another level of employees • Since L-‐1A is a fast track to Mul1na1onal Execu1ve Green Card (EB-‐1),
applica1on is presented and approved within two years of gran1ng of visa
33
Bridge from L-‐1A to Green Card • L-‐1A Execu1ves or Managers have a corresponding green
card category, the EB-‐1 Mul1na1onal Execu1ve or Manager category.
• Requirements are very similar to L-‐1A renewal requirements – Candidates must be removed from day-‐to-‐day ac1vi1es and in purely supervisory or execu1ve func1ons only
• Requirement of one of the past 3 years working for foreign en1ty before working in the US exists – but all 1me in US is tolled – can apply for green card any 1me
• No labor cer1fica1on is required, as with other EB categories (EB-‐2/EB-‐3) so processing can take place in approximately one year.
34
No company needed: EB-‐1 Extraordinary Ability Green Card
• Similar to O-‐1 nonimmigrant visa for Extraordinary Ability – Qualifying criteria are even more flexible and numerous, but O-‐1 requires sponsorship, while EB-‐1 is self-‐sponsored
• Almost no limita1on as to profession: Science, Academics, Arts, Sports, Research, Business, etc., as long as qualifica1on is established
• No caps, filing deadlines, and is eligible for premium processing so can be adjudicated extremely quickly (Have had cases approved in two days).
35
Extraordinary Ability EB-‐1: Three-‐Prong Test
1) Qualifica1on in 3 of 10 categories 2) “Sustained Acclaim”: Applicant must show that he/she has a
high level of na1onal and/or interna1onal sustained acclaim – This is evidenced by lelers signed by leaders in their industry. The leler-‐signers reputa1ons legi1mize the sustained acclaim of the visa applicant.
3) Substan1al Benefit to the U.S. – This standard is not clearly defined, but argument must be made that visa applicant’s physical presence in the U.S. will translate into tangible benefits to the U.S. economy, like job crea1on, as well as more intangible benefits, like overall contribu1on to the arts or culture of the U.S.
36
Prong 1: Qualifying Criteria You must show that applicant qualifies in a minimum of 3 categories, not
all ten (not even a majority): 1) Lesser na.onally or interna.onally recognized prizes or awards
(“Lesser” is not strictly defined but in prac1ce means anything but a Pulitzer, Nobel, Academy Award, Grammy, Emmy).
• These can be na1onal or interna1onal awards, and the organiza1ons which grant them should be well recognized, so awards are deemed as a recogni1on of being at the top of one’s field.
2) Evidence of your membership in associa.ons in the field which
demand outstanding achievement of their members • Cannot be membership that simply requires payment of dues.
Membership must be obtained ader a screening process and the specific criteria of membership selec1on should be enumerated in a confirma1on leler by the en1ty.
37
3) Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publica.ons or other major media
• What is most important factor here is the number of readers/circula1on of each publica1on. The bigger, the beler. Online sources are acceptable but harder to define number of readers, and so those with corresponding published edi1ons are best. Profile pieces are beler than simple men1ons, as applicants are chief focus of ar1cles.
4) Evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others, either individually or on a panel
• Judging the work of your peers posi1ons you as an expert – This must be associated with an official event, like judging a talent show for entertainers, or presenta1on papers for a major conference, for example – Need official confirma1on leler sta1ng criteria for choosing judges
38
5) Evidence of your original scien.fic, scholarly, ar.s.c, athle.c, or business-‐related contribu.ons of major significance to the field
• Keys here are that contribu1ons be original, preferably solo work and that the significance of the work be demonstrable – impact on the industry can be shown vis-‐a-‐vis ar1cles/reviews and cita1ons in work by other professionals – This category is oden used by inventors ,scien1sts and recording ar1sts
6)Evidence of your authorship of scholarly ar.cles in professional or major trade publica.ons or other major media
• This usually applies to academics/science/math/medicine – Proof of publica1onand confirma1on leler from publisher establishing reputa1on and circula1on for publica1on suggested
39
7) Evidence that your work has been displayed at ar.s.c exhibi.ons or showcases
• This applies to ar1sts only – Can be concerts, fes1vals, exhibi1ons • Best proof is ar1cles published about the event with specific
men1on of the ar1st, website printouts, flyers/promo1onal materials and confirma1on lelers from exhibi1on organizers
8) Evidence of your performance of a leading or cri.cal role in
dis.nguished organiza.ons • This role should be an actual posi1on in the organiza1on, not just a
role in a project. For people who generally work on a project-‐by-‐project basis, being a permanent board member is one way to sa1sfy this category, or a member of the faculty of a university/school, but generally this applies to a period where the individual was employed by the organiza1on
• Leler from organiza1on should describe in detail the person’s leading or cri1cal role
• Dis1nguished Reputa1on of the orgranza1on must be established – Awards/Recogni1on, reviews, history of success.
40
9) Evidence that you command a high salary or other significantly high remunera.on in rela.on to others in the field
• This category is difficult to establish because what is considered “significantly high” and in “rela1on to others in the field” are largely undefined.
• As a rule of thumb, you want to do market research for salaries/compensa1on in the field and shoot for at least 150% over the highest reported levels, and get expert leler to corroborate this.
• In prac1ce, USCIS will compare candidate’s income to the top 10% of the field and will cite the highest-‐paid individuals as sesng the standard, making this difficult to u1lize.
10) Evidence of your commercial successes in the performing arts
• Sales, sales, sales – Need to show that box office receipts or sales of videos or music recordings
• Remember all you need is three!!
41
EB-‐1 Extraordinary Ability: Step-‐by-‐Step Case Example
• Long-‐1me Crea1ve Director in Adver1sing decides he wants to live permanently in the U.S. and not be sponsored/employed
• Evalua1on of his work and c.v. leads to decision to apply for EB-‐1 green card
• Lelers wrilen, documenta1on assembled, confirma1on lelers procured, etc.
• Applica1on submiled with premium processing and approved • Applicant sends addi1onal documents to Na1onal Visa Center for
consular processing (If in US on visa, would apply for adjustment of status)
• Interview at US Embassy in London and visa given • Applicant moves to US as permanent resident; eligible for US
ci1zenship in 5 years 42
Final Comments – Take Home Lessons
1) Job crea.on is the single-‐most important factor to keep in
mind when choosing a road/path. • Business models which depend on manpower from Day 1 of
opera.ons, e.g. service industry businesses like hotels, hospitals , assisted living centers and restaurants are ideal for maximizing chances of gecng visas and green cards.
• Businesses which depend on temporary job crea.on or
outsourced labor are the weakest cases, because they don’t directly benefit the U.S. economy.
43
44
2) Investments can be used by entrepreneurs who want a hands-‐on role in the management of the business or can be largely passive in nature. Whether they can get a visa or a green card will depend on the size of the investment and the number of full-‐.me jobs created. 3) E-‐2 is the ideal category for start-‐ups without the resources to create large staff numbers, as the expecta.ons for job crea.on are lower and there is more .me between renewal deadlines.
45
4) L-‐1 fits the mul.na.onal business model and companies that have the resources to create more jobs in the short-‐term 5) Laying the groundwork BEFORE applying for any business or investment-‐related visas helps maximize chances of success in short and long-‐term: a) Developing a five-‐year business plan , projec.ng growth, hiring, and revenue genera.on b) Incorpora.ng and Funding the U.S. en.ty
46
c) Pucng the preliminary phase of business launch/expansion into mo.on by: • procuring office space • marke.ng new business • forming strategic business alliances • beginning to do work and if possible, hiring preliminary staff • U.lizing Visa Waiver/ESTA or B1 visa in order to travel and lay the groundwork
47
7) Overachievers who are tops in their fields, in almost any category, may be eligible for extraordinary ability green cards, as long as they have projects and plans which extend a benefit to the U.S. as a whole, especially economic benefits 8) Businesses in the U.S. which create jobs, especially in hospitality industries, can u.lize the EB-‐5 program to procure needed capital and help grow their businesses, and foreign na.onal investors can obtain green cards for their par.cipa.on. EB-‐5 can be used by passive and ac.ve investors. Job crea.on is THE key to success, which means that choosing a business you can control and operate can maximize chances for success and thus makes it an ideal vehicle for entrepreneurs to get green cards for themselves and their immediate families.
48
Steve Maggi, Esq. SMA Law Firm U.S. Immigra1on & Consular Law 80 Maiden Lane, Suite 2205 New York, NY 10038 Office: (212) 402-‐6885 Email: [email protected] Web: www.smalawyers.com
© 2015 SMA LAW FIRM
