Planning to Expand your Business to the U.S.?

 

By Maud Poudat | US Immigration Attorney
Posted: March 22, 2018

You have grown your business in your home country and have found the challenge of expanding abroad to be quite tempting. Perhaps you visited the U.S. on a tourist visa and realized that your business would do well in its vast and diverse market? Otherwise, you might potentially already have American clients and have come to the conclusion that expansion is simply a great opportunity for further growth. If you are looking into expanding your business to the U.S. you will find that there are some visas that could serve as potentials into moving towards that next step.

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Do you already have a company overseas and want to create a subsidiary company in the U.S.?

B-1 Visa:

The B1 – Temporary Business Visitor Visa is for the business owner that seeks to travel to the U.S. with the intent of attending business activities, such as: to negotiate contracts, meet with clients, participate in short-term training or attend a conference. This visa normally has a duration of 1-6 months and would apply to one that resides outside the United States, plans to travel for a specific amount of time and intends to return to their home country upon the expiration date of the visa.

E Visa:

The Essential Employer Visa or E-Visa will permit the entry to nationals of a treaty country in order to “engage in international trade on his or her own behalf”. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, if you indeed are a national of a treaty country you may be eligible for one of the following visas:

• Treaty Trader (E-1 Visa)
  Qualifications:

• “Be a national of a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation”
• “Carry on substantial trade” 
• “Carry on principal trade between the United States and the treaty country”.
  
  
• Treaty Investor (E-2 Visa)
  Qualifications:

• “Be a national of a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation”
• “Have invested, or be actively in the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide Enterprise in the United States” 
• “Be seeking to enter the United States solely to develop and direct the investment enterprise”

For both visas you may apply either as an investor or an executive/manager. As well, depending on the country you are applying from, you may be permitted to have a visa valid for up to five years and renewable indefinitely as long as you meet the criteria for renewal.

If you are interested in verifying if your country is eligible, you may find this information on the U.S. Department of State’s Treaty Countries Page.

L-1 Visa:

If you have worked overseas for over one year as an executive, manager or person of specialized knowledge in a business holding either a branch, affiliate or subsidiary in the U.S., you may be able to apply for an L-1 Intracompany Transferee Visa. For the L1 in particular you may apply either for an L-1A Visa as an Executive/Manager or an L1B Visa as a Professional with Specialized Knowledge of such Company.

For more information about these visa options, please call us at (407) 674-6968 or fill out the online form provided in his form and we will contact you back.

 (*Please find complete information concerning visas by visiting the USCIS.gov website.)