IMMIGRATION STRATEGIES FOR TRANSFERRING PERSONNEL TO THE UNITED STATES

One of the critical concerns of companies with operations both in the United States and overseas is the ability to transfer key personnel to the United States with speed and certainty. United States immigration law provides several options for transferring personnel, depending on the tenure of the worker with the organization, the nationality of the company and the worker, and qualifications of the worker. 

Temporary Visa Options - while many individuals would prefer to acquire permanent residence (a "green card") in the United States immediately, the length of time needed to process an application for permanent residence (usually at least a year, and frequently several years) and the pace of international business mean that an employee being transferred to the United States will need to commence work in a temporary (called "nonimmigrant") visa classification authorizing employment in the United States. 

The B-1, or visitor for business, visa is a valuable option to companies for short term transfer where the employee will continue to be employed and paid by the company outside of the United States during the temporary assignment in the United States. 

The L-1, or intracompany transferee, visa enables overseas companies with parents, subsidiary, affiliate or branch office in the United States to transfer managers, executives and "specialized knowledge" employees to the United States.

The E-1 treaty trade visa and E-2 treaty investor visa are only available to employees of companies owned at least 50% by nationals of a country that has a special treaty relationship with the United States or individuals who are nationals of the treaty country.

Employees who do not qualify either under E-1 or E-2 treaty trader/treaty investor category or the L-1 intracompany transferee category as managers, executives, supervisors or specialized knowledge may need to obtain H visa. 

To explore your options, please call our NYC office at (212)564-1589 to schedule your consultation with our NYC Business Immigration Lawyers or visit our website to complete our online consultation form.