Startups What are the pros and cons of the E-2 and L-1A visas? • businessroundups.org Ana LopezDecember 21, 20220417 views Sophie Acorn Contributor Sophie Acorn is the founder of Alcorn Immigration Act in Silicon Valley and 2019 Global Law Experts Awards’ “Law Firm of the Year in California for Entrepreneur Immigration Services.” She connects people to the businesses and opportunities that enrich their lives. More posts from this contributor Dear Sophie: When can I register my employee for the H-1B lottery? Dear Sophie: How do technical layoffs affect PERM and the green card process? Here’s another edition from “Dear Sophie,” the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies. “Your questions are vital to the spread of knowledge that empowers people around the world to push beyond limits and chase their dreams,” says Sophie Acorn, a Silicon Valley immigration attorney. “Whether you’re in people management, a founder, or looking for a job in Silicon Valley, I’d love to answer your questions in my next column.” businessroundups.org+ members get access to weekly ‘Dear Sophie’ sections; use promo code ALCORN to buy a one or two year subscription at 50% off. Dear Sophia, We co-founded a startup in Colombia and we are thinking of opening a sales office in the US! I would move and my co-founder will continue to lead our technical team from Colombia. I am currently considering both the E-2 investor and L-1A executive visas. What are the pros and cons of each? — Courageous Colombian Dear Brave, What an exciting time and opportunity for you and your team! Congratulations on your US expansion and for all the growth that has brought you to this stage. These visas are two great options for startup founders to move to the United States to expand their business. Let me start by providing an overview of both the E-2 treaty investor visa and the L-1A intra-corporate transferee executives and managers. Visa applications for both are thoroughly scrutinized by immigration officials, so I recommend working with an immigration attorney to present a strong case. E-2 visa The E-2 visa offers a great option for international founders whose home country has a commerce and trade treaty with the US. The US State Department claims a list of treaty countries. Colombia and more than 75 countries, including Pakistan and Taiwan, are on the list, but other countries such as China and India do not currently have the necessary treaties. The E-2 allows international founders to live and work in the United States while investing significant capital to build a business here. Image Credits: Joanna Bunjak / Sophie Acorn (Opens in a new window) For a founder to qualify for an E-2 visa as an investor or essential worker, at least half of the U.S. business must be owned by people or businesses from your country of citizenship. This can get complicated for startups after several rounds of dilution from US investors. However, if you are forming a subsidiary of an already profitable Colombian company and have no intention of raising venture capital in the US, it may not be much of a problem for you. Talk to an attorney about your global business structure and your fundraising plans to confirm. While the E-2 requirements do not specify a specific minimum amount to be invested in the U.S. entity, immigration officials look for large upfront investments in office space, equipment and inventory, usually in the $100,000 range. Receiving a pre-seed or Series A round in the US or another country can help streamline this part of your case, but it’s not absolutely necessary. Some founders have managed to qualify for an E-2 with even a transfer of prized intellectual property to their US company. While the E-2 does not require a U.S. company to create jobs in the future, immigration officials may consider it marginal without job creation, which does not bode well for the E-2’s adoption. If you already have US employees or a business plan that hires US employees, this can help with your E-2 approval.