 |
 |
|
|
 |
BUSINESS VISAS: E VISAS FOR TREATY TRADERS & INVESTORS INTRODUCTION TO THE E VISA Are you a foreign business owner or essential business personnel who intend to expand your business into the U.S.? Here at Zhang & Associates, we regularly help foreigners deal with the complex immigration procedures involved in migrating to the United States for these purposes. Depending on your country of nationality, you may be eligible for a temporary visa called the E visa. The E nonimmigrant visa classification is open to nationals (and their dependents) of foreign countries with a treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States. The national must be coming to the U.S. with the intention of doing one of the following: Carry on substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, principally between the U.S. and the foreign state of which he or she is a national. This is the E-1 category for treaty traders; or Develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which he or she has invested, or actively in the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital. This is the E-2 category for treaty investors. Currently, 50 countries are eligible for the E-1 category and 76 countries for the E-2 category. Canada, Taiwan ROC, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and the United Kingdom are all eligible for both the E-1 and E-2 categories. Citizens of India, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau are not currently eligible for E category visas. If you are not aware whether your country has a treaty with the United States, please check the updated list at our website www.hooyou.com or contact us for more information. Australians are further eligible for E-3, a visa subcategory specifically designated and exclusively reserved for Australian professionals working in various “specialty occupations”. In terms of substantive requirements, the E3 is similar to H1B. However, for consular processing requirements, the E-3 is similar to both E1 and E2. Where can I file an application for an E visa? E visa applications can be filed at a consulate outside the United States or inside the United States, if you are currently here legally, through an application with the USCIS called a change of status request. The processing of E visa typically involves two steps: The employer’s registration as treaty trader or treaty investor at the consulate, and the employee’s application of E1/E2 visa. The registration takes about 4 to 6 weeks, and the visa interview can be scheduled in about two weeks. How long is the E visa valid? E category visas are usually approved for two to five years. Extensions may be requested and are issued in increments of up to two years. There is no limit to the number of extensions that can be issued, however, the alien must not intend to remain or work permanently in the U.S. What are the requirements for E-1 Category Treaty Traders ?
Requirements for E-2 Category Treaty Investors
Requirements for E-3 Category Australian Nationals
Comparison to other Visas Here is a comparison of the E1/E2 visa with H1B and L1 visas:
Advantages of the E visa over the H-1B visa: The biggest advantage of the E visa over the H-1B visa is that there is no quota. Thus, an individual or corporation can apply throughout the year for an E visa. Moreover, while there is an initial time limit on the length of an E visa and each subsequent extension is of fixed duration, there is no upper limit on the number of extensions, unlike H-1B. Therefore, an individual can remain in E status in the United States for the duration of the eligible business activity. There is no educational requirement to qualify for E status and no fixed rules regarding wages. Moreover, the spouse of an E visa holder is eligible to apply for employment authorization, unlike the spouse of an H-1B visa holder. Since the E visa holder can remain in the United States for the duration of qualifying business activities, this is a good option for those investors or traders who want to move to the United States to take advantage of a strong economy to start a business. They can then conduct their business activities in the United States without worrying about immigration requirements. Counterbalancing this, of course, the E visa applicant must have a concrete plan backed up with appropriate financial resources to conduct the eligible business activities in the United States. Only nationals of certain countries are eligible for E status. In addition, the E visa enjoys certain advantages over the L visa. To be eligible for the L visa, a qualifying company affiliation relationship must continuously exist during the whole L1 term. Furthermore, the L-1 beneficiary must have worked at least one year for the overseas company in the past three years. No such requirements apply to the E visa. The E trader or investor does not necessarily be a US company; it can be a foreign individual or company. The disadvantage of an E visa in comparison to L of course is that only citizens of treaty countries are eligible for an E visa whereas no such requirement applies to L visa holders. The L visa tends to be a bridge to permanent residency in the EB-1(c) category while the E visa can be a bridge to permanent residency in the EB-5 category. Our Services The specific services that we provide include:
Zhang and Associates – your choice for business immigration! In the past 12 years, our 11 experienced attorneys successfully represented hundreds of business-oriented immigration cases, including E visas, L visas, EB5 investor immigration, and EB-1(c) multinational executive/manager immigration. Here at Zhang and Associates, we make it our mission to worry about your immigration requirements so you can worry about what really matters to you: your business.
------ (10/08/2008) For more immigration news, please click here |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"The best way to |
| New York | Houston | Chicago | Austin | Los Angeles | |||
