Contracting : is it possible?
Discussion
Your post begs a few questions:
1) Contracting in what field? If it's highly scientific - maybe. If it's IT, forget it.
2) Has your UK business been in existence for at least a year and does it employ others, have a track record of growth and continue to run when you are not there to run it? If so, you might be eligible to apply for an L1 intra-company transfer. Costly and administratively burdensome, however.
3) If you are really sh!t hot at what you do (and it isn't IT) and you are prepared to become an employee again, you could search for a US employer who is motivated enough to sponsor and pay for an H1-B for you. (Several $000 and a ton of paperwork - so you need to be really talented to pull this one off).
4) Do you know any US citizens who might be in the marrying mood? This is by far, the easiest way in.
1) Contracting in what field? If it's highly scientific - maybe. If it's IT, forget it.
2) Has your UK business been in existence for at least a year and does it employ others, have a track record of growth and continue to run when you are not there to run it? If so, you might be eligible to apply for an L1 intra-company transfer. Costly and administratively burdensome, however.
3) If you are really sh!t hot at what you do (and it isn't IT) and you are prepared to become an employee again, you could search for a US employer who is motivated enough to sponsor and pay for an H1-B for you. (Several $000 and a ton of paperwork - so you need to be really talented to pull this one off).
4) Do you know any US citizens who might be in the marrying mood? This is by far, the easiest way in.
Edited by Matt Harper on Monday 2nd August 15:12
Matt Harper said:
Your post begs a few questions:
1) Contracting in what field? If it's highly scientific - maybe. If it's IT, forget it.
2) Has your UK business been in existence for at least a year and does it employ others, have a track record of growth and continue to run when you are not there to run it? If so, you might be eligible to apply for an L1 intra-company transfer. Costly and administratively burdensome, however.
3) If you are really sh!t hot at what you do (and it isn't IT) and you are prepared to become an employee again, you could search for a US employer who is motivated enough to sponsor and pay for an H1-B for you. (Several $000 and a ton of paperwork - so you need to be really talented to pull this one off).
4) Do you know any US citizens who might be in the marrying mood? This is by far, the easiest way in.
1. Construction, Infrastructure - either Commercial or Project Management1) Contracting in what field? If it's highly scientific - maybe. If it's IT, forget it.
2) Has your UK business been in existence for at least a year and does it employ others, have a track record of growth and continue to run when you are not there to run it? If so, you might be eligible to apply for an L1 intra-company transfer. Costly and administratively burdensome, however.
3) If you are really sh!t hot at what you do (and it isn't IT) and you are prepared to become an employee again, you could search for a US employer who is motivated enough to sponsor and pay for an H1-B for you. (Several $000 and a ton of paperwork - so you need to be really talented to pull this one off).
4) Do you know any US citizens who might be in the marrying mood? This is by far, the easiest way in.
2. Existing for 3-4 yrs but no other employees as only used as vehicle for me alone
3. Have already looked at this, but will dig deeper
4. Already married!
Thanks for input so far!
The L1-A is a very desirable and adaptable visa if you can swing it. It is one of a mere handful of employment based visas that have dual intent - i.e. they are convertible to permanency.
To qualify, the sponsoring business must be substantial. That's not to say 'large' necessarily, but it must have substance. This is where things can get tricky, because it should have premises, staff, and a recognizable management structure, in addition to a stable and progressive trading history that can be proven with tax returns and P&L/financial statements/bank accounts.
Opening a subsidiary in the US would mean likewise here - premises, bank accounts and most importantly, a plan to employ USC's quickly - and be profitable, pretty much from the get-go, or able to be financially propped-up by the parent company, until it becomes profitable. As a result, the parent company must continue to trade successfully in it's home country.
In these tough economic times, the Dept of Labor and USCIS require L1 visa beneficiaries to renew their visa after 1 year (it was 3 years in my day). L1 renewals are subject to a lot of scrutiny currently and lacklustre business performance results in nearly 5 times the number of denials, than was the case 10 years ago. Some argue that getting the visa in the first place is a lot easier than getting the first renewal.
In reality, the L1 is intended to be used by large multi-national corporations, who move staff globally as a matter of routine, rather than ambitious one-man-bands.
In summary, no staff = no-go, I'm afraid.
With regard to the H1-B, if you are qualified (and it sounds like you could well be) it is just a matter of finding an employer willing to jump through the hoops that DoL and USCIS put in place to prevent US companies from importing cheap labor. This isn't easy when you consider the state the US economy is in right now, how much it costs to sponsor an H1-B employee, when there are legions of unemployed but potentially qualified US candidates who don't come with a visa price-tag attached to them. At risk of pissing on your chips, the US construction industry is still paralyzed by a shortage of commercial financing - not a whole lot is getting built right now.
Finally, seeing as betrothal to a septic isn't an option, if you are thoroughly minted, you could consider EB-5 - an investment visa, that comes with a green card. Down-side of this one is that the 'investment' needs to be at least $500,000 and you probably won't see a bean of it, ever again. In essence, you are buying the green card for half a mill.
Sorry if this is a bit doom-laden, but there's no point in sugar-coating the reality.
Good luck in your endeavours.
To qualify, the sponsoring business must be substantial. That's not to say 'large' necessarily, but it must have substance. This is where things can get tricky, because it should have premises, staff, and a recognizable management structure, in addition to a stable and progressive trading history that can be proven with tax returns and P&L/financial statements/bank accounts.
Opening a subsidiary in the US would mean likewise here - premises, bank accounts and most importantly, a plan to employ USC's quickly - and be profitable, pretty much from the get-go, or able to be financially propped-up by the parent company, until it becomes profitable. As a result, the parent company must continue to trade successfully in it's home country.
In these tough economic times, the Dept of Labor and USCIS require L1 visa beneficiaries to renew their visa after 1 year (it was 3 years in my day). L1 renewals are subject to a lot of scrutiny currently and lacklustre business performance results in nearly 5 times the number of denials, than was the case 10 years ago. Some argue that getting the visa in the first place is a lot easier than getting the first renewal.
In reality, the L1 is intended to be used by large multi-national corporations, who move staff globally as a matter of routine, rather than ambitious one-man-bands.
In summary, no staff = no-go, I'm afraid.
With regard to the H1-B, if you are qualified (and it sounds like you could well be) it is just a matter of finding an employer willing to jump through the hoops that DoL and USCIS put in place to prevent US companies from importing cheap labor. This isn't easy when you consider the state the US economy is in right now, how much it costs to sponsor an H1-B employee, when there are legions of unemployed but potentially qualified US candidates who don't come with a visa price-tag attached to them. At risk of pissing on your chips, the US construction industry is still paralyzed by a shortage of commercial financing - not a whole lot is getting built right now.
Finally, seeing as betrothal to a septic isn't an option, if you are thoroughly minted, you could consider EB-5 - an investment visa, that comes with a green card. Down-side of this one is that the 'investment' needs to be at least $500,000 and you probably won't see a bean of it, ever again. In essence, you are buying the green card for half a mill.
Sorry if this is a bit doom-laden, but there's no point in sugar-coating the reality.
Good luck in your endeavours.
Thanks for your input Matt - doom laden or not, its facts and experience I need and not dreamers, so I value your input tremendously.
Just one thing I wanted to clarify on your post, I did say construction, but majority is Infrastructure construction, ie. Rail, Ports, Roads. Slightly different market and therefore funded by Govnt on rolling programmes.
Hoping this could be what helps in the end...!?
Just one thing I wanted to clarify on your post, I did say construction, but majority is Infrastructure construction, ie. Rail, Ports, Roads. Slightly different market and therefore funded by Govnt on rolling programmes.
Hoping this could be what helps in the end...!?
Possibly not of any interest to you, but when you mentioned rail infrastructure - this immediately sprung to mind. It is a topic of feverish debate in this region, but it looks like it will probably go ahead.
www.sunrail.com
They even have a jobs/sub-contractors page.
www.sunrail.com
They even have a jobs/sub-contractors page.
Matt Harper said:
Possibly not of any interest to you, but when you mentioned rail infrastructure - this immediately sprung to mind. It is a topic of feverish debate in this region, but it looks like it will probably go ahead.
www.sunrail.com
They even have a jobs/sub-contractors page.
Thanks for this, will have a look further this evening! www.sunrail.com
They even have a jobs/sub-contractors page.
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