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Choosing the right visa, how much money you need, how to start a business: answers to basic questions about moving to the USA



I write a lot on Habré about my experience in doing business in the USA, developing projects in the American market and moving to America. Recently, in spite of quarantine, people who want to move here after the end of the coronavirus pandemic are increasingly writing to me. Moreover, a surge of interest in the topic began even before the release of the firm of Yuri Dudya about Silicon Valley.

In this article I will answer the most popular questions that potential immigrants have.

Which visa is right for me?


There are three main types of visas that can suit most of those who come here:

  • H-1B Visa is a standard US work visa for a local company.
  • O-1 visa - a visa for talented professionals and business representatives.
  • L-1 visas - if you work or own a company outside the United States, you can move to work in a new office in this country or open it yourself.

A lot of materials have been written about each of these visas on the Internet, and I wrote several articles on this subject:


In addition, I consulted with my visa lawyer, studied materials on the USCIS website and talked to colleagues in the USA about the pitfalls that can occur when you receive each of these visas. I compiled the data in separate PDFs for each visa.

The result was a kind of “white papers” in which there are answers to basic questions with links to official sources, as well as checklists for a preliminary assessment of their chances - now you don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for legal advice just to find out that a particular visa is not suitable for you . You can download all these materials on the project website (visas O-1 , H-1B , L-1 , EB-1 , etc.).

Now move on to the next question.

How much money do you need to move


It is impossible to unequivocally answer this question, since there are too many unknowns. Much depends on the following factors:

  • you are moving to work or you are an entrepreneur starting up your project;
  • Do you have a family and children;
  • what state and city do you plan to settle in;
  • what level of consumption are you used to at home;
  • etc. etc.

In order to understand the order of possible costs, I can roughly tell you what and how much it cost me to move with an O-1 visa (and for the first year after).

  • ~ $ 10-12 thousand - payment for the services of a visa lawyer, preparation of a case, associated costs and state fees for considering a petition for me and my wife.
  • $2000/ – ( ) – $6 ( + security-), $400 , , . credit score, $1800/, .
  • $6500 – Chevy Cruze – . «» – , , .
  • ~$500/ – . ( ), ( , , ) .
  • $150/ – .
  • ~$1500 – , .

If you move to work in a large company, then it can incur a significant amount of expenses - at least for paying a visa. If you, like me, are “your own director”, then for the move and for the first year you will need somewhere $ 70 thousand.

This means that, firstly, it is important to have an income immediately after the move, and secondly, to have financial airbag. You will need it, because at first you will often unknowingly overpay for many things (for example, buying a car).

I want to start a business in the USA, what do I need for this?


Again, this is too general a question, although it is often asked. Therefore, I will answer based on my experience - I opened two companies, the first time I was helped, the second time not. Total it turns out, to start a business you will need:

  • – Clerky, « » (, C-Corp ) $750. (Division of corporations) . , , (LLC) $160.
  • – , . (, PayPal), – . membership WeWork + $270 .
  • Bookkeeping - in general, you can keep bookkeeping yourself, but at first it’s better to bring in a licensed accountant (CPA, certified public accountant). In this article, I wrote about why this is important. Depending on the volume of services (preparation of reports, maintaining salaries, etc.), their cost may be $ 50- $ 200 per month.
  • Bank account - full-fledged activity without an account in an American bank will be impossible. Making it pretty simple, but you need a physical presence. Typically, maintaining an account is free if there is a certain amount in the account, if the balance is lower, the cost of maintaining an account is approximately $ 15- $ 30 per month.

In general, these are the basic elements that you will need to start a business and start a full-fledged work.

Conclusion


Moving to the USA is a rather large-scale event, for which you need to prepare properly. Finding answers to your questions is the first and one of the most important stages. So, hopefully, this material has proven useful. Thank you for the attention!

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