Dear Sophie: I live in Europe but want to move my startup to the US
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Dear Sophie:I live in Germany, but I am a Hungarian citizen. I'm worried that I won't qualify for an O-1A visa because I'm definitely not famous or a genius. I want to move my startup to America so we can access investors and the North American market. Because I am Hungarian and not German, I don't qualify for an E-2 investor visa. Is there any way I can pull off moving to the States and growing my company over the next two to three years?
- Hopeful in Hamburg
Dear Hopeful: You are not alone! If your dream is to move to the United States, you can definitely make it happen through your existing company in Germany. It's going to take some basic planning and then a little bit of time to lay the groundwork. I'll walk you through the basic requirements so that you can get an idea of what's ahead of you, but if you need individual specific legal advice, you should ask an attorney. For now, I hope this helps.
The first thing the United States government will want to see is that you have a registered company here. It could be any type of company, even an LLC in California. However, startup investors usually prefer a Delaware C corporation. If you don't yet have a company registered in Germany because you are very early stage, then you could also consider having the Delaware corporation be the parent company of any future legal entities in Europe. Talk to a corporate attorney about the right choice for you.
From the immigration perspective, all of this is necessary because of the main requirements of the L-1A visa for intracompany transferees. These requirements demand that a U.S. and foreign company have a qualifying relationship for an employee transfer, such as a parent/subsidiary, a branch or an affiliation.