L1 A Visa Petition for Start-Up Companies – Is it Worth the Hassle?
The law provides for a non-immigrant visa for a multinational executive or manager to be admitted in the U.S. for purposes of opening a new office or start-up entity. In recent years, the USCIS has made it increasingly difficult for small businesses to benefit from this visa option. The USCIS requests onerous evidentiary documentation which causes excessive delays and costs from the U.S. Petitioners. This article discusses the legal criteria for this non-immigrant visa benefit, the challenges faced by petitioners and practitioners, and provides practice pointers for preparing a successful L-1 petition in spite of the USCIS’s current bias and discrimination against businesses starting new offices in the US. What […]