Common U.S. Immigration Options for Entrepreneurs and Foreign Investor

Temporary Work Visas

L-1A Intracompany Transferee — To qualify, you must have been employed by a non-U.S. company for at least one continuous year out of the past three years. The U.S. company where you will be working must be either the parent company, branch, subsidiary, affiliate or joint venture partner of the non-U.S. company.

To qualify as an executive, you must:

• Direct the management of the company or a major division of the company;
• Determine the policies and goals of the company or a major division of the company;
• Have broad discretionary decision-making authority;
• Be supervised only by executives at a higher level, a Board of Directors or shareholders.

To qualify as a manager, you must:

• Manage the entire company or a subdivision, department or function of the company;
• Supervise and control the work of other supervisors or professionals, or manage a department, function or subdivision;
• Have decision-making authority over hiring and firing employees;
• Have decision-making authority over the daily operations of a department, subdivision or function.

E-2 Treaty Investor — To qualify for an E-2 visa, a treaty investor must:

• Be a national of a country that has a treaty of commerce and navigation with the U.S.;
• Have invested, or are actively in the process of investing, significant capital into a U.S. enterprise;
• Seek to enter the U.S. for the sole purpose of managing their investment in the U.S. enterprise;
• Provide proof that the investment capital or assets have not been obtained through a criminal enterprise.

Immigrant Visas

EB-1C Multinational Manager or Executive — This employment-based immigration visa is designed specifically for multinational executives and managers, and must be sponsored by a U.S. employer.

In order to qualify for the EB-1C, the foreign manager or executive:

• Must have been employed outside the U.S. in the three years preceding the petition and for at least one year by a firm or corporation;
• Must be seeking to enter the U.S to continue service with that firm or organization’s affiliated U.S. entity;
• Must have been employed outside the U.S. in a managerial or executive capacity and with the same employer, an affiliate, or a subsidiary of the U.S. prospective employer;
• Must have duties that are at a high level involving critical decision-making, supervising, and other job duties that are essential to the livelihood of the business.

EB-5 Investor/Entrepreneur — To qualify for an EB-5 visa, a foreign investor must make an “at-risk” investment in a new U.S. enterprise that will earn profits. The minimum qualifying investment is $1 million unless the business is located in a high unemployment area (at least 150% of the national average rate) or rural area, where the minimum investment is $500,000. The investment must also produce at least 10 new full-time jobs within two years.