Immigration Laws for International Entrepreneurs and The “New Office” L Visa
A big challenge for international entrepreneurs ready to set up new businesses is the US immigration law. Current legislation makes it difficult to get visas based on the creation of small startup enterprises and while it looks like immigration reform is inevitably coming – it is a slow-moving process. The US Senate has drafted a bill which would overhaul the system, and the US House of Representatives is currently drafting a similar bill. If the legislation passes, US immigration law will take a completely new direction, though whether it will actually create new visa categories for entrepreneurs and investors remains to be seen. For now, however, entrepreneurs must make-do with existing immigration laws. One existing visa category that some entrepreneurs have been able to use to get visas based on the creation of a business in the US is the L visa – specifically the L visa for "new offices."The New Office L visa is a category reserved for executives, managers, and specialized knowledge employees who have been employed abroad for at least one year by the parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch company of a newly formed US company. USCIS defines "newly formed" as a US based business that has been doing business for less than one year.Unlike regular L visas which are issued for three years, the New Office L visas are issued for one year because the USCIS wants to see that the new business has in fact remained viable and is in a position to grow at the conclusion of the first year. New Office L visa holders can apply for a two year extension towards the end of the first year as long as it can be established that the company is profitable, or will be profitable, and has taken the correct steps to ensure viability. Accordingly, having a strong and detailed business plan and sticking to it is imperative for extension purposes.
Like regular L visas, the New Office L visa can be extended for up to five or seven years, depending on whether the visa holder is an executive, manager, or specialized knowledge employee, and it allows a visa holder who has been a manager or executive for both the US and foreign company to apply for a green card without the backlog found in other green card categories.For international entrepreneurs who have already started a company in their home country and are looking to expand to the US, this visa type is a great option. The New Office L visa enables foreign based companies to transfer talented, experienced personnel to the US to establish their US presence. However, an obvious shortcoming of the New Office L visa is that it does not offer a solution to the foreign entrepreneur who wants to start a business in the US but does not have a related business in his or her home country, or has not been employed for at least a year in a qualifying position for a foreign business. These issues have been voiced by pro-immigration and pro-business advocates in the US, leading to the proposed legislative changes by the Senate and House aimed at fostering a more open and accessible visa classification for foreign entrepreneurs.
New Office L Successes - A Personal Note
The New Office L has been successfully utilized by a wide range of companies as a means of facilitating their US startup operations. Companies that have taken advantage of the New Office L category have grown from small companies with only a few employees to large corporations with hundreds of employees in multiple offices across the United States. In fact, many of our clients here at Barst Mukamal & Kleiner LLP are companies which started off as New Office L companies and have expanded so much so that they now qualify as Blanket L companies, a designation reserved for companies that have 3 or more domestic and foreign offices and receive at least 10 L visa approvals within a 12 month period or have combined US annual sales of at least $25 million.
Knowing that I have played a part in helping entrepreneurs and business owners realize their dreams and watching these companies grow is one of the most fulfilling parts of my job. I recently asked one of our firm’s clients to describe the experience of going through the New Office L program. Our client said, “our company started in the UK and thanks to BMK LLP, we now are able to operate in the U.S. by transferring some of our employees from the UK who already understand our business. Without these employees, our company would have a much slower growth rate. We currently have 3 employees with L visas and have had many more over the years. Some of our employees who have had L visas have gone on to get their green cards. We expect that the L visa option will be an integral part of growing our US operations for years to come.”With hopes of new visa options emerging from the proposed legislation, the New Office L category could be joined by other visa classifications suitable for business owners, investors, or entrepreneurs looking to build US businesses. By next year, the US could be open to a whole new group of talented people who have the means and skills to create new businesses, revitalizing our economy and hiring new workers in the process. It is a very exciting time to be an immigration lawyer and I look forward to working with new clients and helping them reach their business goals.