Sophie Alcorn, legal professional, writer and founding father of Alcorn Immigration Legislation in Silicon Valley, California, is an award-winning Licensed Specialist Lawyer in Immigration and Nationality Legislation by the State Bar Board of Authorized Specialization. Sophie is captivated with transcending borders, increasing alternative, and connecting the world by training compassionate, visionary, and knowledgeable immigration regulation. Join with Sophie on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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Expensive Sophie,
For the previous 5 years, I’ve been operating the Boston-based biotech startup I co-founded whereas dwelling in Pakistan whereas my co-founder has been dwelling in Boston. Now I wish to transfer to the U.S. to develop our enterprise. What choices can be found to me?
— Plucky Pakistani
Expensive Plucky,
I’m appreciative of all of the worldwide founders such as you who come to the U.S. to innovate, create jobs, and contribute to the financial system! And kudos to you! It appears like your biotech has hit the candy spot to sponsor you for a visa in addition to a inexperienced card if you wish to keep within the U.S. completely.
Make sure you work with an immigration lawyer, who can information you and your startup by way of this course of and arrange your startup for achievement in sponsoring worldwide expertise. An immigration lawyer may put together you for an in-person interview on the embassy or a consulate in Pakistan in case you are required to have one. You might be able to get an interview waiver for the visa choices under when you apply earlier than the tip of the 12 months. Till then, consular officers have the discretion to waive the visa interview requirement for sure work visas when you have been beforehand issued a visa and have by no means been denied one.
Now, let’s dive into your greatest choices.
L-1A visa
The L-1A visa for intracompany transferee executives and managers is a superb possibility for startup founders who’re both trying to arrange a brand new workplace within the U.S. or — such as you — wish to transfer to the U.S. to work from an already present workplace.
Your startup should meet sure necessities to sponsor you for the L-1A. Your organization will want a bodily workplace location within the U.S. if it doesn’t have one already. In contrast to different visas, for an L-1A petition it’s really required and may function proof of enterprise viability. Your organization will doubtless additionally must submit enterprise plans, progress fashions, and group charts.
For the L-1A, you should have been working in your startup in Pakistan for not less than one steady 12 months inside the previous three years for a associated firm, have an government or managerial place at your startup’s U.S. workplace, and make choices and supervise staff.
If the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Companies (USCIS) authorised you for an L-1A, it will likely be good for 3 years initially. You may renew your L-1A twice for 2 years every, which offers you a most keep of seven years as an government within the U.S.