L-1 签证与 EB-1C 跨国高管绿卡专题L-1 Visa & EB-1C Multinational Executive Green Card

If you have sufficient capital, you can choose based on your needs:
1. For a hands-off approach: Choose EB-5 Investment Immigration: The new EB-5 policy is mature now. The main risk is the timing of capital return, but the process is relatively passive and requires minimal effort.
2. For experienced business owners: Choose L-1 & EB-1C: You retain control of your capital, grow your business while pursuing a green card. You need a viable U.S. business model to avoid pure capital expenditure.
3. For those willing to take a chance: Choose "Trump Gold Card": If launched in the future, it only requires a non-refundable donation, and is expected to feature expedited processing and relaxed requirements.
Each option has its own pros and cons. The final choice depends on your specific background, resources and personal preferences.

Yes. Starting an e-commerce business in the U.S. is actually very favorable for this pathway. Currently, there is a significant price difference for many consumer goods between China and the U.S. E-commerce businesses easily generate revenue, scale up, and attract individual customers. You do not need large corporate clients to satisfy USCIS's requirement that "the business is actively operating". You can hire U.S. workers to handle customer service, shipping, and warehouse management, while you perform managerial duties, which meets the requirements for L-1A multinational manager visa and EB-1C green card. You retain full control of your capital, making this pathway safer and more flexible than EB-5.

It is possible. Attorneys at New Weiming Law Group have successfully obtained O-1 and H-1B approvals for employees of recently established startups with only 3-4 employees and no profits yet. For L-1 New Office petitions, you need to provide a comprehensive business plan proving you have sufficient capital to launch and operate your business. Initial L-1 approval is typically valid for one year. During this year, you will implement your business plan, start operations, and hire employees. After one year, you can apply for L-1 extension and begin processing your EB-1C permanent green card application.

After obtaining a green card, you become a U.S. tax resident, and your global income (including wages and investment gains) must be reported and subject to federal and state income tax. However:
1. Overseas assets (real estate, bank deposits) themselves are not taxable. Only capital gains from the sale of these assets are taxable.
2. Foreign earned income exclusion: Up to around $100,000 of foreign earned income per year is exempt from U.S. income tax.
3. Deductions: Mortgage interest, state and local taxes can be deducted from your federal taxable income.
U.S. effective tax rates are actually much lower than those in Europe and Canada. For specific tax planning, we recommend you consult a professional certified public accountant.

L-1 status is tied to your specific sponsoring employer. If you want to change jobs to another company, the new employer must file a new L-1 or H-1B petition for you. After your I-140 petition is approved (at the EB-1C stage), if your I-485 adjustment of status application has been pending for more than 180 days, changing jobs to a similar position may not require you to restart the green card process (this is called portability).
Regarding travel back to your home country: As long as your L-1 visa stamp is still valid, you can freely enter and exit the U.S. If your green card application is pending (I-485 stage), we recommend you apply for Advance Parole before leaving the U.S. to avoid jeopardizing your green card application.