Employment Visas

Permit foreign nationals to own and operate a business or work and be employed in the United States. Also allows and derivative visas for spouses and children. In some cases, aliens who invest substantially in America are rewarded with permanent residency. (E B 5) Start up businesses are authorized thru and L1 visa, and E 2 visa or EB 5 visas. Employees have the additional options of the H 1 B and TN visa categories.

INVESTORS

Foreign nationals who wish to start or invest in companies in the United States have several visa options. The links below will take you to our Las Vegas affiliate Web site, where we already have a comprehensive explanation of these processes available online: L-1A Visas. This class of visa is available to foreign nationals (owners or managers) interested in opening a subsidiary or foreign branch of their company in the United States. An L-1A Visa permits stays of up to three years with a cap of seven years total. E-2 Visas Investors who wish to purchase an existing U.S. business or invest substantially in a new one can obtain a visa for themselves and their spouses and dependents that does not expire as long as they continue their business relationship with the company. EB-5 Million-Dollar Investor Visas. Foreign investors who can make a large investment (usually of $450,000 to $1,000,000 or more, can earn lawful permanent residency (a Green Card) directly as a benefit. The investment must create at least ten permanent jobs for LPRs or U.S. citizens.

EMPLOYEES

There are also immigration opportunities available to certain skilled workers. Learn more about these options by visiting these links to our sister site:

H1-B Visas

These visas are available to foreign nationals who have both a four-year university degree and a firm job offer to work in the United States. Three years of work experience can also be substituted for each year of university training. The spouse and dependent children of an H1-B Visa holder can also reside in the United States during the two three-year stays allowed through the visa.

TN Visas

The TN Visa is identical to the H1-B visa except that it is specific to foreign nationals from Canada or Mexico only. These U.S. neighbors benefit from lower application fees, easier processing, and no annual cap on the number of visas available.

L-1B Visas

These visas are available to workers or managers with "specialized knowledge" that is needed by an American subsidiary or branch office of a multi-national company. Along with their spouses and dependent children, L-1B Visa holders can spend up to three years at a time in the United States for a total of seven years.

(Employers should also be aware of the L "Blanket" visa, which is helpful when a company has multiple employees eligible for L-1B visas.)

E Treaty Visas

The "Treaty Trader" visa is to aliens who wish to come to the U.S. The alien must be essential to the efficient operation of the company s/he will work for and must assist in conducting "substantial trade" between the United States and his/her country of origin. Treaty Traders and their families are also allowed indefinite stays in the U.S. as long as their business activity continues.