Finding an appropriate employment-based visa is often difficult enough, but for entrepreneurs the options are even more limited. This intermediate panel is intended as a discussion of nonimmigrant visa options specifically for foreign nationals who are trying to enter the United States to create and operate an American business. Our expert faculty will discuss strategies for foreign nationals trying to obtain work authorization in order to create and direct their own company. They also will address the formation of a business, and when work authorization becomes necessary in a company’s early days. Finally, the pros and cons of different visa options will be examined as they relate to the entrepreneur.

Featured Topics

• Permissible Entrepreneurial Activities While on a B-1
• Establishing E-1 and E-2
• Rising to the Level of O-1A in Business: Tips for Establishing the Criteria
• Pros and Cons of the H-1B for Entrepreneurs: Current Trends in Co-Founder H-1B RFEs and Strategies for Overcoming Them
• L-1A New Office: How to Help Small Businesses Obtain L-1s in the Age of "Buy American and Hire American"
• The Impact of COVID-19 on Nonimmigrant Visas for Entrepreneurs

Free Downloadable Seminar Recording Included with Live Registration Included with registration, participants in the live seminar will receive a free downloadable recording of the seminar. It will be available in participant's Agora Digital Library approximately 4-7 business days from the seminar date.

Faculty

Olivia Serene Lee (DL), San Francisco, CA

Olivia Serene Lee is a partner with Minami Tamaki LLP in San Francisco where her expertise is on startups and emerging companies in a variety of employment-based immigration matters. She is past chair of AILA Northern California and she currently serves on AILA’s Diversity and Inclusion and AILA University Committees. She has served as faculty on local and national AILA CLE panels on topics such as O-1s, H-1Bs, and business immigration litigation in federal court.

Lori Torgerson Chesser, Des Moines, IA

Lori Torgerson Chesser is a senior shareholder and chair of the Davis Brown Law Firm Immigration Department. She is a member of IMMLAW and is one of the founders of the Iowa/Nebraska AILA Chapter. She is past chair of the American Immigration Council Board of Trustees and has served on numerous AILA committees, including her current assignment on the Worksite Verification Committee. She is a frequent speaker and writer on business immigration topics.

Susan J. Cohen, Boston, MA

Susan J. Cohen is a nationally recognized immigration lawyer. As Founder and Co-Chair of Mintz’s Immigration Practice, she works with corporate clients to address their immigration challenges. Susan has held numerous leadership positions in the American Immigration Lawyers Association and has contributed to federal and state immigration regulations. She is frequently quoted in the media and is also recognized as a “Top Author” by JD Supra. She has won several awards for her pro bono asylum work.

Marco A. Moreno, Indianapolis, IN

Marco A. Moreno represents large international corporations, small franchises, foreign investors, and individuals in all aspects of immigration law. He advises corporate clients on proper immigration benefits for their foreign-born employees, student and employer obligations and responsibilities under state and federal laws and regulations, including I-9 compliance, E-verify, no-match letters, and related anti- discrimination compliance and violation prevention. He is also the CEO and General Counsel to a USCIS-designated EB-5 Regional Center, Cross Roads of America. In this capacity he advises foreign nationals seeking E-2 investments whose qualifying capital eventually is applied toward the EB-5 immigration visa petition.