Visa L-1A is probably the most ‘famous’ and affordable visa of three major so-called ‘business’ visas used by businessmen and investors seeking to work in, or immigrate to the United States.
Why? Visa L-1A is a great alternative to more ‘expensive’ EB-5 Immigrant visa. Visa L-1A is dual-intent which means that holder of L visa often can apply for the Green Card almost immediately, provided that he or she meets certain requirements. Visa L-1A has no requirement as to the size of an investment that must be made in order to qualify for the visa. Unlike treaty visas E-1/E-2, visa L-1A available to virtually any national without any ‘nationality’ limitations.
There are multiple online resources listing visa L eligibility criteria but, unfortunately, most of them contain incomplete or outdated information. We recommend to always check the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) official website for most accurate and up to date information.
However, in this article we would like to address certain practical aspects that aren’t normally covered by other sources.
Should you choose Visa L-1A, E-2 or EB-5 if you are eligible for any of them? Yes, visa L-1A is arguably the best option because – unlike visa E – it is dual-intent and you keep more flexibility in terms of your business as it is often the case with EB-5 visas because of certain requirements it imposes on the business you start, buy or invest in. Also, as mentioned above, in many cases it may take less time from Visa L approval to getting your non-conditional Green Card than with EB-5 Visas. However, Visa L-1A is associated with several problems that often discourage individuals seeking to buy existing or start a new business in the US.
Filimonov Law Firm, PLLC prides itself in elaboration of certain proprietary strategies that allow you to mitigate or completely overcome many of these challenges that are briefly outlined below.
First: Timing of employment requirement. An individual seeking visa L-1A must be employed at a senior level at existing foreign business for at least 1 out of 3 trailing years. Many businessmen see this as an unresolvable problem. However sometimes it is not.
Second: Meeting “Executive” definition. To qualify for L-1A visa, you must be employed at a top level executive position which means you should not be ‘hands-on’ on many tasks that traditionally would have been delegated to lower-level executives and middle management or other staff. Therefore, a smaller business, such as auto repair shop or small pizza take-out restaurant, can be unsuitable for L-1A visa qualification. But, although, it is not possible to absolutely mitigate risks of USCIS seeing you not meeting ‘executive’ requirement, there are lawful but little-known strategies that will allow you to structure and position you business role the way you will meet this requirement.
Third: Visa extension after 1st year. If you are just opening your business in the US, you will receive Visa L-1A for one year only, and will need to apply for an extension, – or a Green Card, – at the end of this first year of your new business. But running a business has never been easy, specifically during it’s first years, with hardships rising exponentially in an unfamiliar business and cultural environment. Many L-1A visa holders can not make it through the first year and end up with visa not being extended. Therefore, it is important to affectively address variety of issues arising during the first year of holding your visa L-1A when applying for visa extension or status change.
All these – and many other – issues can be effectively addressed, and visa denial risks mitigated, by planning your business immigration strategy in advance, before you come to the United States to extend existing, or find your ‘dream’, business here. At Filimonov Law Firm PLLC we can offer you effective strategies you can employ that will be 100% compliant with existing US Immigration Law.
Contact Filimonov Law Firm PLLC and let’s start planning your L-1A visa case.
Why us? We are uniquely positioned as one of the very few law firms in the US who can offer business immigration at it’s fullest.
Before coming to the United States, Mr. Filimonov practiced as Russian business and corporate attorney. He understands both the nature of business in general, as well as it’s legal component. He knows first-hands all practices and specifics of doing and structuring business in former CIS countries, including variety of cross-border arrangements, and is able to identify every opportunity one may have to qualify for L-1A visa and, subsequently, a Green Card.
