What to do and which Visa is best for me?

[samams 0]

Hi yall,

I am lost as to which visa type is best and how to go about applying for it. Spoke with two immigration attorneys for about 10mins and they wanted $10-15000 to help with the application process? That seems like an excessive amount of money. They seemed to be purposely vague and were also stating contradictory things so its left me quite confused as to what might be the best options and how to go about things.

Had started a US LLC company some 7 months back (and have a prior one, as well as one here) and I am finding that due to the difficulties being faced and the walls I am encountering that it really is coming down to needing to be in the US. Some of the issues I am encountering are the need for an SSN (bank, utilities, telephone, merchant processing etc), home address, setting up a new location to receive and process goods, hiring staff, and some others. Have tried very hard to avoid the need but it is appearing like it is inevitable and I am very close to opening doors and starting to earn.

Now the attorneys have made varying suggestions;

1-get a student visa of some sort and then work for that company or not. suggestion was that this could be fast issuance and you'd get the other requirements fulfilled eg ssn, home address, time to set up the new location and so on.

2-get a E2 visa though they didnt quite explain how that works apart for showing 'substantial investment' towards the venture or company? Said could be as low as $10000 because it also depends on the overall value/worth of the business? Apparently this does not count towards green card.

3-get a L1A visa which would appear as a company transfer or sub branch transfer? this counts towards green card though or so I was told.

4-get a H1B visa though apparently employed/hired by my own company? not sure how this would work but they were saying the US entity would be employing me? hmmm

5-get a E3 visa which apparently is specifically for Australians and very similar to the H1B above?

I'd like to point out that though a green card or the option leading to it/allowing for it IDEALLY would be nice, its not vital right now.

I primarily need to get the business off the ground and need to do it fast but dont know what are my options and how to go about them.

Appreciate your input, suggestions, guidance and thoughts

Any recommendations for suitable attorney is welcome too.

Thanks

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

You said you already set up your company, on what visa did you do that? The price the immigration lawyers quoted seems steep, but it does depend on the visa they recommend.

1- won't work, you cannot work on a student visa.

2. Requires $500'000 minimum, often a million, as well as employing several US citizens. If you have the funds though, it is an easy visa to get.

3. It doesn't sound like your company has divisions abroad and in the USA, so this isn't an option.

4. Unsure on this option; in any case, the earliest you could get one would be to start working in 2017 (apply April 2017).

[Boiler 43,392]

2. E2 is not the same as EB5 as mentioned above but in most cases you would need a reasonably substantial investment. Unlikely $10,000 would be anything like enough.

Do you have a Company in Australia that will be opening a branch in the US?

[samams 0]

You said you already set up your company, on what visa did you do that? The price the immigration lawyers quoted seems steep, but it does depend on the visa they recommend.

1- won't work, you cannot work on a student visa.

2. Requires $500'000 minimum, often a million, as well as employing several US citizens. If you have the funds though, it is an easy visa to get.

3. It doesn't sound like your company has divisions abroad and in the USA, so this isn't an option.

4. Unsure on this option; in any case, the earliest you could get one would be to start working in 2017 (apply April 2017).

I did the majority of the paperwork and so on remotely. For some banking and such requirements flew in on ESTA visa (twice in 3 years).

What should more realistic prices be?

1- is there a timelimit after which one could work? Then I guess only benefit this would present perhaps is SSN, home address and such. But how easy is this to even get or organize?

2- ? Both said nothing about 500k. One of them did mention something about a visa type that requires lots of money but this type is more relevant to actually opening and running a business...?

3- never thought this would be a potential problem and therefore needing to go to the US. Could easily open an Oz branch of the same US company or open a new company to match an OZ company? Is it possible to change current US company to become a branch/division of Oz company?

Any suggestions?

[samams 0]

2. E2 is not the same as EB5 as mentioned above but in most cases you would need a reasonably substantial investment. Unlikely $10,000 would be anything like enough.

Do you have a Company in Australia that will be opening a branch in the US?

The attorneys were saying something about context and therefore what qualifies as substantial within the context of that business and its overall costs. eg costs incurred to include flights, accommodation, stock, infrastructure, banking arrangements, merchant processing, time spent on it all so far, money in bank, office lease already in place, new office lease ideas etc.

So the 10k example was within a context of a business whose total value might have been something like 25k and that was just illustrating the lowest example. They were saying you can add ALL of it up as part of investment/expenditure towards this enterprise.

Sadly, never thought would have the need to move stateside. Just all the obstacles and walls I'm facing make it necessary as explained in my opening post. Please refer to point addressed to penguin_ie

"never thought this would be a potential problem and therefore needing to go to the US. Could easily open an Oz branch of the same US company or open a new company to match an OZ company? Is it possible to change current US company to become a branch/division of Oz company?"

[Boiler 43,392]

I have heard of an E2 being issued involving a relatively small amount of money that you mention, But that was to support a multi million dollar contract. An E2 does not have a direct route to a GC.

Of course an OZ company can have a US Subsidiary.

How big is the OZ company, how many employees?

[samams 0]

I have heard of an E2 being issued involving a relatively small amount of money that you mention, But that was to support a multi million dollar contract. An E2 does not have a direct route to a GC.

Of course an OZ company can have a US Subsidiary.

How big is the OZ company, how many employees?

My first and foremost priority is getting this new venture off the ground however way I can fast. GC and such concerns become second and a nice bonus if possible. So whatever options make my priority happen ASAP.

The OZ company is self run with turnover ~400k USD last year. This US entity will far eclipse that (whole reason of wanting to move and expand to US). Shuffling things around and whatever else we can do as is necessary would be possible. Could somehow suddenly hire employees for Oz if needed too.

Another point that was not clear from the attorneys; is there a disadvantage to running the US company first and letting it make some money and THEN use it for visa purposes in whatever capacity possible? Not sure if there is any disadvantage to this but one of them I think was insinuating that for one of the visa types it might be better that its not currently running yet and that it is therefore vital that I be there to run it and start it up?

Any ideas as to how much reasonable attorneys should charge? Any recommendations?

Edited July 20, 2016 by samams

[Boiler 43,392]

A lawyer would no doubt quiz you for some time to find out the full facts of your situation, we are guessing to fill in the gaps.

From what you have said E2 sounds the logical choice, but you are likely to need a significantly greater investment.

[samams 0]

A lawyer would no doubt quiz you for some time to find out the full facts of your situation, we are guessing to fill in the gaps.

From what you have said E2 sounds the logical choice, but you are likely to need a significantly greater investment.

Right but nonetheless having some recommendations for said lawyers would be good.

If E2 is the most logical then my commitment to this current enterprise goes back 16months or so, 2 flights, stock and lots of other costs towards getting it ready. Perhaps 170k and maybe about 20k cash in the bank. Merchant processing accounts are set too (fingers crossed). And thats the stateside only as there is additional 60k costs incurred for its JP production base.

[Michael and Ganna 103]

If you consider a US partner, please pm me....

[Boiler 43,392]

http://www.immigration-lawyer-la.com/j-craig-fong.html

[samams 0]

http://www.immigration-lawyer-la.com/j-craig-fong.html

Are you recommending him from personal experience? Others reviews?

Any idea as to realistic costings?

[Boiler 43,392]

Not personal but a lot of people who should know have said nice things about him.

US Immigration is not cheap, best to ask. With a business you should be looking first for quality.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Employment based green cards are not cheap. You need to pay a qualified immigration lawyer to do this. The price quoted is right.

If you want to invest a large chuck on money into a US business and get a green card to live here, then you have to pay for it. You don't get to redo it if you it up. You get one shot at this. Better to do it right, then to do it wrong on the cheap.

[samams 0]

Will consult with him ASAP. Any other recommendations?

In another post by someone else had read Pearl Law Group (google reviews seem positive), Wolfsdorf&Associates (google seems a bit mixed?), Fragomen (google reviews seem low?).