Navigating the legal landscape when starting a business can be tricky, and this is especially true when doing so in a country foreign to your own. Buchanan’s Knowing Startups blog will discuss some of the issues faced by foreign entrepreneurs when founding start-ups in the United States.
The best advice one could give to a foreign entrepreneur, first and foremost, is to assemble a solid team. Aside from founders, investors, key employees and business consultants, experienced corporate, international tax and immigration advisers are essential. After your team is assembled, an analysis of immigration options should be the next step. Too often, entrepreneurs, enthusiastic about a new endeavor and the opportunities available in new territory, enter into joint ventures or similar arrangements without first determining what (if any) immigration avenues are available. The U.S. immigration system is complex, and, arguably, one of the main challenges it presents is that the categories under which foreign entrepreneurs can enter and work here are limited (and the hoops through which they must jump are numerous). There is nothing more disappointing and costly than making moves toward an exciting new business venture only to realize too late that there are no options available for the founders and key people to come to the U.S. Furthermore, even if there are options available, the immigration regulations have very specific requirements that drive how a deal or start-up enterprise is structured.
You can continue reading this blog post on Knowing Startups.