Visa for an Entrepreneur in the US

This is one of the big topics for me now : I will create my business here, only if I can stay here… I’ve met a lawyer yesterday to discuss my options and have a few answers to all the questions I had about Investors or Entrepreneur visa.

The first option that I had was the transfer visa (L1). My lawyer was more than “enthousiast” with this visa. It is delivered by the Department of Homeland Security and the rules to obtain are both clear and simple. The “main constraint” being that the applicant must have worked at least 1 year out of the last 3 for the Company under which this visa will be issued. By worked, the law means, either full-time employee, or founder… but full-time also. Since I am not building a subsidiary of Jobetudiant.net (but I could have…), and since I never worked full-time for Jobetudiant, I am not eligible. However, one of the good points is that this visa doesn’t require the start-up to have received a specific financial investment.

The second option, which will likely be mine, is the E2 visa, is delivered by the Department of State and the rules to obtain it are a lot less “straight-forward”. Actually, they’ve intentionally been left ague to a remain on the judgment of the local consulate in the country from which you apply. One of the famous examples, is that this E2 Visa requires a “substantial investment” in the Company, from the applicant. I received the confirmation that any amount over $100,000 is considered as substantial… below, well, you’d better bring some other arguments to the table! Another problematic point is that at any moment, 50% of the start-up must be held by foreigners (the entrepreneur or other investors from the same country), which can be a great problem in case of a very dilutive fund-raising!

The lawyer also told me that it’s a lot better to have a Company that’s already running, with customers (or at least Letters of Intents, Memorandum of Understandings…) before applying for the visa. This means that generally, entrepreneurs have to go through a B1 visa for the first 6 months, before actually applying for their E2 Visa!

Last, but not least… my lawyer will invoice $4500 for the preparation of either E2 or L1! Ouch…

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