Immigrants are increasingly setting up their businesses in the US. More than 3 million immigrants run their businesses in America and generate more than a trillion dollars in sales. If you want to sponsor your spouse for a green card, you must also file Form I-130A with USCIS.
However, traveling to a foreign country and setting up your business invites a lot of complications.
Immigrating is a complicated process, but you can make it quicker and hassle-free with the help of a Dallas business immigration lawyer.
Business Visa Options
If you are looking to immigrate your business to America, there are two options:
- Extraordinary Ability Visas- EB-1 and O-1
- Immigrant Investor Visas- EB-5 and E-2
There are two subcategories of visas under these two names: non-immigrant visas and permanent residency visas. We will be talking about them in the later part of the blog.
Extraordinary Ability Visas
Extraordinary Ability visas are for businesses that have achieved great success in their native countries and generate a good income. To get qualified, you have to prove to the US government that you are worthy of getting a business visa.
You may have heard people call this visa “Einstein visa.” This is because this visa is mostly procured by famous individuals, mainly Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer prize winners, Grammy award winners, and other celebrities. However, a few lesser-known individuals whose extraordinary ability in the business, arts, science, etc., has been acclaimed have also been granted this visa.
The EB-1 visa is a permanent residence visa, and O-1 is a non-immigrant visa. If you immigrate to the US using the O-1 visa, you will be sent back to your native country if your business suffers losses or you decide to shut it down. The EB-1 visa offers permanent residency.
Immigrant Investor Visas
Since getting approved for an Extraordinary Ability visa is challenging, most people opt for an immigrant investor visa. This visa allows you to immigrate to the USA as long as you are willing to invest in a business and create jobs for the citizens of the US. This can be your business or someone else’s.
This invested money may come from your pocket, or you may take a loan from a bank. But the loan must be backed up by the bank by using your assets situated in the US. For example, a house in the US.
Under immigrant investor visas, there are EB-5 and E-2 visas. The former one offers you permanent residence in the US. However, the latter requires you to go back to your native if your business fails or you fail to continue to provide jobs. Visit Houstoneb5.com to know more about these visa options.
Other options
Extraordinary Ability visa and Immigrant Investor visa are the topmost preferred visas to settle a business in the United States. However, there are other options that you can explore with the help of your lawyer—for example, H-1B and EB-2 visas.
Contact Pollak PLLC to discuss the different types of business visas for the US and qualifications.
