US Immigration News

There have been numerous concerns about the US visa Trump travel ban.  Families have been kept apart and companies have suffered due to this.  There is no real evidence that people visiting from the Countries on the ban list are more likely to cause problems in the US.  Probably this whole thing is politically motivated in an attempt to attract support.

While there are concerns about the US visa for startups there are still opportunities to start up in the US.  Two US visa categories that are worth considering are the E2 Treaty Investor Visa scheme and L1 visa scheme.  There is no quota for these particular visa categories and they can be used both by investors and employees.   

On February 13, a vote to approve acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) that deals with US visa enforcement, Ronald Vitiello, as the permanent head of the agency, was blocked by the US Senate Homeland Security Committee. Vitiello is Trump’s nominee for the role, but a union representing US immigration officers opposed Vitiello’s appointment.

The cost of recruitment for US visa border staff and others so far seems enormous.  Trump has claimed in the past how good he is at deal making.  This recruitment campaign seems to have wasted a great deal of money.  Perhaps it would have been better to have tried out more than one company to see what happens.  Just picking a very well known company to help does not always work.

The E2 visa may be the only US non-immigrant visa option in many cases. The L1 visa or H1B visa may not be possible. Like the L1 visa category there is no quota for the E2 visa. However, the E2 visa is only available for certain nationalities. Chinese and Indian nationals cannot apply unless they are the spouse or child of an E2 visa holder.

There are a number of US visa schemes available to start a business in the US. While it is difficult and complicated to obtain many of these visas, the costs in many cases may be lower than you might expect.