Connecticut Technology & Intellectual Property

I was recently quoted in a Connecticut Post article regarding immigration options for winners of a business plan competition.  The article illustrates the immigration challenges faced by foreign students at the University of Bridgeport who, despite their proven potential as entrepreneurs and ability to attract financing, nevertheless face difficulties in obtaining a visa or a green card in the U.S. 

Such difficulties are typical within our immigration system despite the contributions that immigrant entrepreneurs have made and continue to make to the U.S. economy.  According to a National Venture Capital Association study on The Impact of Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Professionals on U.S. Competitiveness:

• 40% of venture-backed public companies in the high-tech sector were founded by one or more immigrants
• More than half of the employment generated by U.S. public venture-backed high-tech manufacturers has come from immigrant-founded companies
• The largest U.S. venture-backed public companies started by immigrants include Intel, Solectron, Sanmina-SCI, Sun Microsystems, eBay, Yahoo! and Google
• Nearly 47% of the founders of privately held venture-backed companies were immigrants
• Data shows immigrants in general possess great entrepreneurial capacity, especially in technical fields

 Yet the U.S. immigration laws are just as restrictive, if not more so, towards these foreign entrepreneurs.  To begin with, with very few and strict exceptions, there is no special visa or green card available to an entrepreneur who wants to start up a business in the U.S., even though the entrepreneur can attract venture capital or private equity financing.  Our current immigration system focuses more on visas for employees who can work for U.S. employers than on visas for foreign entrepreneurs who want to start up a business in the U.S.  Thus, recommending immigration options for foreign entrepreneurs takes some creative thinking.   

 Following are some of the immigration options available to early-stage entrepreneurs:

• If they came on an F-1 student visa to obtain a Bachelors, Masters, or PhD degree in the U.S., they can use the Optional Practical Training (OPT) work permit to legally work in the U.S. after graduation for one year, or for 2.5 years for a science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) student.  During the OPT period, the entrepreneur can work on developing his or her business to the level where the business can justify hiring the entrepreneur on an H-1B visa
• They can establish a successful company in their country of origin, work for the company for one year, and then establish a new office for the company in the U.S., where they can transfer themselves as a manager or executive on an L-1A visa or as a worker of specialized knowledge on an L-1B visa
• They can first become employees with an established U.S. employer, in order to obtain an H-1B visa and then a green card based on that employment relationship, after which they can start their own business
• They can obtain a green card based on a qualifying family relationship with a U.S. citizen

 Each of the options above is subject to strict eligibility requirements and complex documentation.  Thus, advance consultation with an immigration attorney is highly recommended.

For a brief presentation on Immigration Law with a focus on business- and employment-based visas, see my webcast.

- Dana Bucin

Dana is an immigration attorney at Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C., and contributing author to ConnTIP