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Sophie Alcorn , attorney , author and founder ofAlcorn Immigration Lawin Silicon Valley , California , is an award - winning demonstrate Specialist Attorney in Immigration and Nationality Law by the State Bar Board of Legal Specialization . Sophie is passionate about transcending borders , expanding opportunity , and connecting the world by practicing compassionate , visionary , and expert in-migration jurisprudence . unite with SophieonLinkedInandTwitter .
TechCrunch+ members receive access to weekly “ Ask Sophie ” columns;use promo code ALCORN to purchase a one- or two - year subscription for 50 % off .
Dear Sophie ,
For the preceding five days , I have been running the Boston - based biotech inauguration I co - founded while living in Pakistan while my co - founder has been living in Boston . Now I want to move to the U.S. to flesh out our business . What options are useable to me ?
— Plucky Pakistani
Dear Plucky ,
I ’m appreciative of all the outside founder like you who come to the U.S. to innovate , create job , and lend to the thriftiness ! And kudos to you ! It go like your biotechnology has reach the sweet spot to patronise you for a visa as well as a green card if you need to stick around in the U.S. permanently .
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Now , allow ’s dive into your best options .
L-1A visa
TheL-1Avisa for intracompany transferee executive and managers is a great selection for startup founders who are either look to set up a new office in the U.S. or — like you — want to move to the U.S. to sour from an already existing federal agency .
For the L-1A , you must have been working for your startup in Pakistan for at least one continuous year within the past three year for a related company , have an executive or managerial position at your startup ’s U.S. spot , and make conclusion and supervise employees .
If the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ) approved you for an L-1A , it will be good for three years ab initio . you may renew your L-1A twice for two years each , which will give you a maximum check of seven year as an executive in the U.S.
L-1A corollary green card
Startup beginner bear in India or China should n’t wait too long before applying for an EB-1C green wag . That ’s because individuals born in those two countries confront waiting for a green menu bit to become available , and the L-1A can not be regenerate beyond seven days .
Individuals comport in India and China must hold off for green poster numbers in the EB-1 category to become uncommitted , so they have a July 1 , 2019 , and August 1 , 2022 , crosscut appointment in October , respectively . That means , for illustration , that only person acquit in India who have a antecedency date ( the date theirI-140green card petition was direct to the USCIS ) of July 1 , 2019 , or sooner can file theirI-485to adjust condition , which is the final step in the light-green card procedure .
Currently , mortal acquit in Pakistan or any country other than India or China can charge an EB-1 I-140 postulation and I-485 software to read permanent residence or adjust status together because immature add-in numbers are available to those someone in the EB-1 category .
Let me dive into an option : the O-1A over-the-top ability visa .
O-1A visa
The barroom for qualify for theO-1Aextraordinary ability visa is much high than for the L-1A. For the O-1A , you must have succeed a major international award , such as a Nobel Prize , Pulitzer , Oscar , or Olympic medal , or meet at least three of the pursual :
I delve into more item about the type of evidence that the USCIS likes to see for each of the criterion in thiscolumn .
While the L-1A and O-1A are both work visas that postulate your inauguration to patronise you , there are clear-cut conflict between the two : Unlike the L-1A , there is no limit on the number of time the O-1A can be extended and no prerequisite for your inauguration to have a forcible office in the U.S.
Individuals with L-1A status who were hold in India or China and who may not get a green card before their L-1A expires should strengthen their qualifications to convert their position to an O-1A to preserve optionality .
O-1A corollary green card
Like the L-1A , the O-1A offers a direct path to anEB-1Aextraordinary ability immature card .
While the O-1A visa and EB-1A green card have like pass requirements , the EB-1A green card has a longer overall processing time , more stringent standards , and ask more support . For an EB-1A , you must have won a major internationally recognize award ( Nobel , Pulitzer , etc . ) or encounter at least three of 10 criterion . Unlike the O-1A visa , the EB-1A unripe card does not require a problem , so it is one of two green cards that enables donee to ego - petition .
Take a look at this previouscolumnin which I discourse in more detail how to qualify for the EB-1A.
E-2 visa
The E-2 treaty investor visa offers a neat choice for international founder whose rest home country has a swap and Department of Commerce treaty with the U.S. The U.S. Department of State maintainsa list of pact country , which include Pakistan . The E-2 enable international laminitis to live and work out in the United States while invest substantial capital to build a business here .
For a founder to qualify for an E-2 visa as an investor or of the essence employee , at least half of the U.S. line of work must be owned by people or companies from your country of citizenship . This can get complicated for startups if they are plan to raise funding from U.S. investors . verbalise to a lawyer about your spherical corporate social organisation and your fundraising plans to reassert .
Although the E-2 does not require a minimum amount of capital to be invested into the U.S. business , immigration officer bet for large , upfront investments in office place , equipment and inventory , unremarkably in the $ 100,000 reach . We have facilitate node deliver the goods in qualifying for an E-2 with a transport of valued intellectual property to their U.S. society .
While the E-2 does not specifically require a U.S. business concern to produce jobs in the future , stimulate U.S. employees or having a business architectural plan that includes rent in the U.S. can avail with the approval of your E-2 .
Although there ’s no boundary on how many times your company extends your E-2 visa , in-migration officials might desire you to demonstrate that you still have ties to your dwelling body politic , such as a mansion house , and intend to eventually reelect there . This is call non - immigrant purpose , and officials will want to see that you do not mean to and do not have hopes of remain in the U.S. permanently . However , it is still possible to seek a immature carte du jour from E-2 status .
So while the E-2 does not offer a green card corollary and individual on an E-2 can not intend to stay permanently in the U.S. by pursuing a unripened wit , we have helped E-2 beginner find ways to successfully navigate the green card unconscious process . The EB-1A green posting is a mutual route for international founders .
Thanks for attain out to me ! You ’ve grow this !
— Sophie
Have a question for Sophie?Ask it here . We allow the right wing to edit your submission for lucidity and/or space .
TheSophie Alcorn Podcastfollows bloodline stories of the pump . If you ’d like to be a client , she ’s accepting software !
