Work Visa Recommendation

[thestas 0]

Hi there,

I was hoping I could get some advice about the best way to immigrate to the US. My fiancé has taken a job and moved to NYC on a TN visa. We are both Canadian and I have British citizenship as well, I have an advanced degree in IT and was a senior member of staff for a large oil and gas company until last November. I have since opened my own business which is primarily operating out of the UK but we can easily expand into the US. 

 

My question is how can I get a work visa that is not tied to an employer? I was looking at either the E2 or the O category?

• For the E2, I have a profitable company and can invest 60k into the US, with a business plan and all the supporting documentation. 
• For the O category, I have number of professional memberships and work with multiple international companies, mostly in Finance that would be happy to write recommendations. I have professional recommendations from various business leaders and insiders, if that helps at all. 

 

Any advice would be welcome,

Stas

 

[jan22 2,912]

9 hours ago, thestas said:

Hi there,

I was hoping I could get some advice about the best way to immigrate to the US. My fiancé has taken a job and moved to NYC on a TN visa. We are both Canadian and I have British citizenship as well, I have an advanced degree in IT and was a senior member of staff for a large oil and gas company until last November. I have since opened my own business which is primarily operating out of the UK but we can easily expand into the US. 

 

My question is how can I get a work visa that is not tied to an employer? I was looking at either the E2 or the O category?

• For the E2, I have a profitable company and can invest 60k into the US, with a business plan and all the supporting documentation. 
• For the O category, I have number of professional memberships and work with multiple international companies, mostly in Finance that would be happy to write recommendations. I have professional recommendations from various business leaders and insiders, if that helps at all. 

 

Any advice would be welcome,

Stas

 

The governing treaty between the US and UK that covers treaty trader/investor visas requires that the applicant not only be a national of the country but also a resident in the country.  That is, you not only have to be a national/citizen of the UK, but also resident there (the UK).  From your post, I assume you are living in Canada.  If so, you could not qualify for an E2 treaty investor visa.    (If you are living in the UK, ignore this paragraph!)

 

Not to be discouraging, but I think an O visa is unlikely.  It takes more than letters of recommendation .  You have to demonstrate that you have extraordinary ability and/or achievements in your field through sustained national or international acclaim.  It is usually not issued for self-employment; you need a sponsor.  There needs to be an employer or at least a managing agent.

 

You could get married and enter the US on a TD visa (dependent of a TN visa holder), but TDs vIsa holders are not authorised to work in the US.

Edited April 27, 2020 by jan22

[Boiler 43,726]

Why not your own TN visa?

[thestas 0]

Thank you both. 

[randomstairs 270]

Maybe you can try the EB2-NIW avenue. It's self-sponsored but requires that you demonstrate that your work and the field of work are in national interest. 

[fs2439 46]

I would look into e2 to make sure it's not appropriate.  O1a does require an employer (or more than one). O1b (artist visa) does not, but requires an agent 

Edited May 1, 2020 by fs2439

[fs2439 46]

On 4/28/2020 at 9:34 PM, randomstairs said:

Maybe you can try the EB2-NIW avenue. It's self-sponsored but requires that you demonstrate that your work and the field of work are in national interest. 

Yes, this is a good avenue

[jan22 2,912]

8 hours ago, fs2439 said:

I would look into e2 to make sure it's not appropriate.  O1a does require an employer (or more than one). O1b (artist visa) does not, but requires an agent 

I had originally said it would not qualify for an E2 visa because the OP was not resident in the UK.  Have thought about this since -- and, it's true that a British national operating a British company needs to be not only a citizen of but also domiciled in the UK to qualify for an E2 visa. 

 

I realized, however, that I made an assumption because the OP said the company was operating primarily in  the UK.  Key question -- where is the company registered/incorporated/headquartered?  If the answer to that is the comoany is legally a Canadian company merely doing business in the UK, you can apply based on your Canadian citizenship if you make the proper investment in the US before you apply for the E2 .  Sorry I didn't ask this question earlier.

Edited May 1, 2020 by jan22

[thestas 0]

@jan22 thank you for the clarification. I am UK based and the company is registered in the UK. I was just assuming that having a Canadian passport would be easier to get the E2 visa but that doesn't seem to be the case. 

 

I was initially thinking of E2 but it looks like EB2-NIW might be a good avenue to also look into. 

Stas

[jan22 2,912]

1 hour ago, thestas said:

@jan22 thank you for the clarification. I am UK based and the company is registered in the UK. I was just assuming that having a Canadian passport would be easier to get the E2 visa but that doesn't seem to be the case. 

 

I was initially thinking of E2 but it looks like EB2-NIW might be a good avenue to also look into. 

Stas

Ah, so both you and company are in the UK -- sorry i misunderstood your original post.  If you're living in the UK, have made a substantial investment (by the time of your visa application) in a/your US company, and you can show it will provide a more-than-marginal income, the E2 would be much faster and easier to obtain (once the Embassy re-opens for non-immigrant visa applications, of course).

[Boiler 43,726]

Just to quickly mention the investment could be held in ESCROW if purchasing an existing business/property subject to issuance of the visa.