Susanne Leone Interview: Immigration Concerns for U.S. Subsidiary Employees
Florida Sun Magazine interviewed Susanne Leone in its 02/2020 edition on immigration concerns for foreign companies in the U.S. Susanne Leone points out several visa options for employees of U.S. subsidiaries and U.S. branch offices to abide by U.S. immigration law. Under strict and limited circumstances foreign companies can -if they qualify under the law- send their employees under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) or a B-1 Visa to the United States. These visas can be used for example to attend business meetings in the United States but will not result in U.S. work authorization or allow the individual to receive payment from the U.S. company. However, most likely this is not the appropriate visa for most cases and the company must obtain U.S. work authorization for its employees and apply for a nonimmigrant visa such as the E-1/E-2 visa or L visa. For instance, the E-2 visa may grant German citizens entry in the United States and work authorization if they invested a substantial amount of capital in a business in the United States and can show at least 50% ownership of the enterprise or possession of operational control through a managerial position.
Please contact us for legal advice and more information regarding appropriate U.S. visas for your business. Click here to read the full interview.
