Immigration consultant's notes. How to move to the USA with own Startup project?

This question worries many entrepreneurs who dream of starting a business in the United States, but do not have sufficient reasons for this (from the point of view of the US immigration authorities).

Many countries (Australia, Canada, Singapore, Italy ...) in recent years have introduced special visas for the corresponding circle of businessmen, to one extent or another encouraging the desire to organize or transfer the project to the sovereign territory of their country. Unfortunately, the United States is not one of them. Therefore, you should immediately make a reservation: the process of "moving" will be complicated and abound with numerous pitfalls. But, without a doubt, a positive result can be achieved, it remains only to understand how.

The purpose of this publication is to provide initial information about possible immigration schemes, so the legal subtleties are intentionally left behind the scenes. Anyone interested in the details is welcome to consult.

Obviously, before moving, it is important to first visit the country and create the basis for a working startup. This allows you to make a B-1 visa (visiting the United States for business purposes), but with strict restrictions on business. In fact, when entering the country on the basis of a B-1 visa, the use of the word business itself can already affect the possibility of crossing the border.

The fact is that the owner of B-1 can not perform work directly in the United States. It is permissible to communicate with partners, participate in conferences, but not to implement the results of negotiations & gained experience.

For example, if you flew from China, but at the border you said that you came to "do business" and somewhere in the social network (in relation to your business) New York will be mentioned, this is enough to prevent you from being allowed into the United States. Spouses and children cannot enter on the basis of a B-1 visa and must receive a special B-2 visa.

An E-2 visa is quite suitable for organizing a startup, which allows you to invest in an American company and work in it for a two-year period, followed by an indefinite extension. Spouse (spouse) and children have the right to join the investor.

The amount of investment can range from 75,000 to 1,000,000 dollars, although the very definition of the size of the investment is rather vague. This circumstance should be taken into account, because on the ground the interpretation of the necessary amount of investment can vary greatly by the immigration authorities.

The main specificity of E-2 is that the investor must be the holder of the passport of one of the countries with which the United States has a trade agreement. Today it is more than 70 states, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine and many others. Unfortunately, Russia is not on the list.

One of the most common options for moving to the United States is to purchase a Grenada passport (under the Citizenship for Investment program), which is also an accomplice to the trade agreement, followed by the issuance of E-2.

A serious drawback of E-2 is the fact that the visa is not an immigration visa, that is, it is subject to regular renewal and, in principle, does not lead to citizenship.

The H1B visa is not only one of the most famous business visas in the USA, but also one of the most difficult in terms of its registration. Unfortunately, H1B is not suitable for startup owners, since it is not possible to get it for a new company that does not have decent financing.

For existing startups that have succeeded in their country and are seeking to enter the US market, an ideal option is an L-1 visa. In fact, the L-1 non-immigrant visa allows the transfer of the head or manager of a foreign company to the office of an affiliate or subsidiary located in the United States. The main disadvantage of L-1 is the maximum visa validity period of 7 years (subject to renewal).

The requirements for a candidate for L-1 are as follows:

• one year of work as a leader or manager in a foreign company with 5  subordinates;
• a foreign company must be a functioning and financially sustainable business.

The most unconventional option for immigration may be the procedure for obtaining a non-immigrant visa O-1. The visa is intended for extraordinary individuals, to which, under certain conditions, the founders of startups can be attributed. The field of activity of a person with abilities does not play a role. It can be science, art, business, or even sports.

Currently, there is no rigidly formalized set of rules for determining whether a visa applicant is considered an extraordinary person or not. If the candidate has qualifications, experience, he is one of the leading experts in his field of activity, the O-1 visa is a viable option. It is also worth noting that the O-3 visa allows spouses or children of persons with an O-1 visa to also enter the country.

Well, as a conclusion. There is no Highway for the start-up founders to move to the USA, so you have to build it on an individual basis, taking into account the personal characteristics of the customer. And once again I want to repeat, in the framework of this publication the task was only to outline the main ways in which it is possible and necessary to move in order to solve the task.