Corporate Transferee U.S.A. Work Visas

Corporate Transferee U.S.A. Work Visa

Foreign based companies may transfer a manager, executive or employee with "specialized knowledge" to their NEW U.S. branch office, affiliate, subsidiary or joint venture, for a period of up to 6 years, provided that the foreign based company continues to do business abroad while the manager or executive is working in the United States. The foreign company must show that the person to be transfered has worked for the foreign company abroad as a manager or executive for one full year within the preceeding 3 year period in order to qualify. The foreign parent company and the U.S. branch office do not have to be involved in the same line of business. No U.S. investment is required other than the cost of establishing a U.S. company and arranging for adequate initial office space. We can incorporate a U.S. company in any state, and arrange for adequate initial office space at additional charges. The processing time for the Corporate Transferee Visa is only 3-4 weeks.

According to the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canadian companies have the option of either 1. Submitting their L-1 Intra-Company Transferee Petitions at a U.S. Class "A" Port of Entry for immediate processing, or 2. Sending their L-1 Intra-Company Transferee Petition to the appropriate Regional U.S.A. Immigration Center in the United States for processing.

Multi-National Business Executive Green Card

Section 203 of the United States Immigration Act provides for the "Multi-National Business Executive" Corporate Transfer Green Card. Pursuant to this section managers or executives of foreign based companies may apply for a U.S.A. Green Card once the U.S. branch office, affiliate, subsidiary or joint venture has been doing business in the U.S. for more than one year. To qualify for this "Multi-National Business Executive" Green Card Petition, both the U.S. and the foreign parent company must be actively involved in business operations; and the U.S. company must be able to show that it has sufficient earnings to pay the salary of the transferred manager or executive. The processing time for this Green Card Petition is approximately 3-4 months.

The New U.S.A. Investor Visa

For Investments of $75,000 U.S. and Above

The U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement (incorporated into NAFTA) extended, for the first time, the U.S.A. E-2 Investor Visa status to Canadian citizens. The E-2 Investor Visa authorizes a principal investor to manage and direct his/her U.S. business enterprise for temporary one year periods, renewable indefinitely, as along as the U.S. business continues to operate. Investments of as low as $75,000 U.S. dollars in an active business have qualified for the E-2 Investor Visa status.

All E-2 Investor visa applications for Canadian citizens (not otherwise leagally residing in the U.S. with valid status other than that of a tourist or business visitor) must be processed only at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto. Since August 1995, no other U.S. Consulate in Canada provides E-2 Investor processing services.

In order to qualify for this visa a "Substantial Investment" in an "Active" U.S. business is required.

According to guidelines issued by the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, in cases where the total value of the U.S. enterprise is $500,000 US dollars or less, the principal investor must invest at least 75% of the total value of the enterprise. A mortgage secured by the assets of the enterprise is not considered to be part of the investment for E-2 visa purposes. In cases where the total value of the enterprise is greater than $500,000 US dollars, but less than $1,000,000 U.S. dollars, the investor is expected to invest at least 50% of the total value of the enterprise.

The U.S. enterprise must be an "Active" business. Thus, speculative investment in real estate, and investments in stocks and bonds, are not considered to be valid investment for E-2 visa purposes. However, the active commercial or residential development of vacant land is considered to be a qualified investment for E-2 purposes.

Marginal investments do not qualify for E-2 status, that is, one which will only support the investor and his immediate family. Therefore, in most cases the U.S. enterprise should create U.S. jobs. In addition, the principal investor must fill an essential role in the U.S. enterprise, either as the investor who will develop and direct the enterprise or as a qualified employee of the enterprise necessary for the development of the investment.

Professionals

Persons with a bachelors degree in a "Specialty Occupation", and a U.S. job offer in their field, may apply for the H-1B professional temporary work visa. These visas are valid for up to 6 years. the term "Specialty Occupations" means any occupation where the minimum requirement for job candidates is a bachelors degree in a specific field. However, Business Management is not considered to be a "Specialty Occupation" for U.S.A. Immigration purposes. NAFTA provides a simplified visa application procedure for Canadian professionals otherwise clasifiable in the H-1 category. These professioansl may apply for the TN temporary work visa at any Class "A" Port of Entry. The TN visa is valid for one year periods renewable indefinitely. In addition, there is no numerical limitation on the annual number of TN visas issued. The following is the NAFTA list of professions qualifying for TN status:

Accountant, Architect, Computer Systems Analyst, Disaster Relief Insurance Claims Adjuster, Economist, Engineer, Forester, Graphic Designer, Hotel Manager, Industrial designer, Interior Designer, Land Surveyor, Landscape Architect, Lawyer, Librarian, Management Consultant, Mathematician, Medical Allied Professionals (Dentist, Dietitian, Medical Laboratory Technologist, Nutritionist, Pharmicist, Physician, Psychologist, Registered Nurse, and Veterinarian), Range Manager, Research Assistant, Scientific Technician/Technologist, Scientist (Agriculturist, Animal Breeder, Animal Scientist, Apiculturist, Astronomer, Biochemist, Biologist, Chemist, Diary Scientist, Entomologist, Epidemiologist, Geneticist, Geochemist, Geologist, Geophysicist, Horticulturist, Meterologist, Pharmocolgist, Physicist, Plant Breeder, Poultry Scientist, Soil Scientist, and Zoologist), Social Worker, Sylviculturist, Teacher (College, Seminary, University), Technical Publications Writer, Urban Planner, and Vocational Counselor.

All of the above professions require a bachelors degree (unless otherwise provided) in order to qualify for the TN status. Computer Systems Analysts for instance are required to have either a bachelors degree or a post secondary diploma and 3 years of experience in order to qualify for TN status. Medical Technologists may also qualify with a post secondary diploma, and 3 years of experience.

In order to apply for the TN visa at a Class "A" Port of Entry, the applicant must provide the U.S. Immigration Service a letter from his/her U.S. or Canadian employer, evidence of his/her professional qualifications, and proof of Canadian citizenship.