U.S. Visas and Green Cards for Entrepreneurs, Executives, and Investors.

No. Incorporating an LLC or C-Corp in the United States and obtaining an IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN) are purely corporate and tax registrations open to any foreign national. They do not grant visa status, a Social Security Number (SSN), or work authorization. Actively managing day-to-day operations in the U.S. on a B1/B2 visitor visa constitutes unauthorized employment and can trigger visa cancellation and inadmissibility.

Unlike the EB-5 program (which sets statutory minimums of US$ 800,000 or US$ 1,050,000), U.S. law does not establish a fixed dollar minimum for E-2 or L-1A petitions. Under the Foreign Affairs Manual (9 FAM 402.9), E-2 investments are evaluated under a proportionality test: the committed capital must be substantial relative to the total cost of purchasing or establishing a viable enterprise of that type (in practice, structured filings typically start around US$ 100,000 to US$ 150,000+). For an L-1A New Office, the foreign parent must demonstrate sufficient capitalization to secure physical premises and fund first-year executive and staff payroll.

Yes. USCIS explicitly addresses entrepreneur self-petitions in the USCIS Policy Manual (Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5). An entrepreneur who holds an advanced degree (or a bachelor's degree plus 5 years of progressive experience, or exceptional ability) can qualify for a National Interest Waiver by demonstrating under Matter of Dhanasar that their U.S. business endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, that they are well positioned to advance it, and that waiving the job offer requirement benefits the United States.

Both categories require a qualifying corporate relationship (parent, subsidiary, or affiliate) and require the executive or manager to have worked for the foreign entity for at least 1 continuous year within the preceding 3 years. The primary difference is the maturity of the U.S. entity: the temporary L-1A visa allows you to launch a brand-new U.S. branch from scratch (New Office L-1, initially valid for 1 year), whereas the permanent EB-1C Green Card requires the U.S. company to have been actively doing business with established revenue and organizational hierarchy for at least 1 full year.

Yes. While Brazil does not currently hold a bilateral E-2 treaty with the United States, Brazilian nationals who hold dual citizenship with a treaty country (such as Italy, Portugal, Spain, Germany, France, or the United Kingdom) can apply for the E-2 visa. Note that under INA § 101(a)(15)(E), if the treaty nationality was acquired through a financial Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program rather than birth, descent, or standard naturalization, the applicant must have been domiciled in the treaty country for a continuous period of at least 3 years prior to applying.

Yes. Under current USCIS policy, legally married spouses of L-1 principals (admitted as L-2S) and E-2 principals (admitted as E-2S) receive employment authorization incident to status immediately upon admission to the United States. Their I-94 record serves as evidence of work authorization for any U.S. employer or self-employment without waiting for a separate EAD card. Unmarried children under 21 may attend public or private schools in the U.S.

Both E-2 consular adjudications and EB-5 USCIS petitions require a complete, auditable paper trail proving that the invested capital was acquired through lawful means and traced cleanly from the investor to the U.S. business account. Acceptable evidence includes personal and corporate tax returns, audited financial statements showing shareholder dividend distributions, real estate or equity sale agreements, bank statements, and regulated international wire transfer records.