options to those H1b employees who have been affected by employment uncertainty resulting from the Covid-19 impact
Short term Options
A short-term option that we will generally discuss with these impacted foreign nationals is that of the B visa. The B visa is a short term (6 month) visa that is geared towards either a Tourist or a Business visitor to the United States. The advantage may be to allow the applicant time to pursue other visa or status options in the United States while maintaining status.
Long Term options
The E-2 visa requires an investment into a business in the United States; the visa has traditionally been popular amongst startup founders and small business owners. The visa requires the investor to invest a “substantial amount” of capital and the business operations must produce more than a “marginal” income; this means that the E-2 enterprise must create jobs for U.S. workers. Unlike the EB-5 visa, there is not a minimum number of jobs that must be created for each investment nor is there a statutory minimum investment amount. However, the E-2 applicant must be a national of an E-2 eligible country.
The E-2 visa provides many advantages to the applicant. First, it allows for the continuation of status. Unlike the H1B visa, which has a limit to the time allowed before the H1b employee must return home, the E-2 may be extended in perpetuity, as long as the business continues as an ongoing concern. Further, the spouse of the E-2 investor will be eligible for a work permit allowing for an open, non-restricted employment opportunity.
Traditionally, an E-2 investor would either start up or purchase an existing business.
Franchise E-2
In the past year, there has been a surge in Franchise opportunities available to E-2 investors. While some of our E-2 clients will have a business already earmarked, many require assistance from Franchise brokers that can assist the investor with locating a Franchise that is E-2 friendly.
