San Diego’s startup ecosystem is teeming with coastal charm and innovative spirit. With tech hotbeds like La Jolla, Mira Mesa, East Village, and Sorrento Valley, this southern California city has emerged as a hub for visionary entrepreneurs, investors, and collaborators. Foreign-born entrepreneurs are taking note of these opportunities and choosing to scale their operations in this sunny coastal city.
At Alcorn Immigration Law, we work alongside startups and their key team members to solidify a long-term immigration strategy and then move forward to secure the work visas required to achieve success. To discuss your strategy with our team of experienced startup immigration attorneys, contact us at +1(855) 546-0015 today.
Tech Startups & Corporate Immigration
Navigating immigration challenges as a high-growth tech startup or corporation requires a proactive, creative approach. Startups are known for breaking the mold and solving problems with an innovative mindset, and their attorneys should be no different. We help startups and corporations achieve success by pursuing creative solutions that open new doors and help businesses scale. Our corporate immigration services for tech startups are tailored to the unique needs of our clients, but the following provides a roadmap for how we can help:
- For startups looking to bring in skilled foreign workers, the H-1B visa is a popular choice, as this visa allows companies to employ graduate-level employees in specialty occupations. The H-1B can be obtained even for early-stage founders with majority equity, and more programs are becoming available to obtain them without a lottery.
- The O-1A visa is designed for individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement in the sciences, business, education, or athletics. It is a popular choice for founders, founding engineers, designers, and researchers.
- For startups with international offices seeking to transfer employees to the U.S., the L-1 visa is a valuable tool to enable startups to bring in key talent from their overseas branches to bolster their operations in San Diego.
- The TN visa allows professionals from Canada and Mexico to work in the U.S. in specific fields. Additionally, the E-3 for Australian citizens and H1-B1 for Chilean and Singaporean foreign nationals can help startups looking to hire professionals from these countries.
- By providing comprehensive support for startups seeking to bring in individuals for trade, investment, or research purposes, the E-1 trade, E-2 investment, and J-1 researcher visas can be helpful options.
- Navigating the complexities of permanent residence for employees is essential for startups aiming to retain valuable talent long-term. Our team offers guidance on EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-1C, PERM EB-2 NIW, EB-2, and EB-3 visas, ensuring startups can provide a pathway to permanent residency for their employees based on their unique qualifications and contributions.
Startup Founder Immigration
At Alcorn Immigration Law, we support founders, entrepreneurs, VCs, investors, and corporations with strategic and personalized immigration solutions. We handle all the behind-the-scenes challenges so founders can focus on what they want to do in the United States—grow their business. As seasoned immigration attorneys with first-hand experience in the startup ecosystem, we have leveraged the following visa options to help founders come to the United States so they can establish, fund, and scale their operations on American soil:
- One of the key advantages of the O-1A extraordinary ability visa is its recognition of exceptional talent and expertise, making it an ideal choice for startup founders with extraordinary capabilities.
- International Entrepreneur Parole is akin to a startup visa. It is a status to help global founders build their companies for 2.5 years and has the option for a 2.5 year extension.
- The H-1B visa is ideal for founders, executives, and other key team members
- L-1 intracompany transferee visas are a valuable resource for founders looking to establish or expand their business in the United States.
- Founders of startup companies have access to additional visa options that cater to specific business needs and circumstances. These visas, namely the E-1 trade visa, E-2 investment visa, and E-1 and E-2 essential employee visas offer unique opportunities for founders looking to establish or expand their business in the U.S.
- B-1 and B-2 business and visitor visas are non-immigrant visas that allow individuals to enter the United States for specific purposes. For founders, the B-1 visa is ideal for pitching to investors, performing market research, attending conferences and business meetings with potential customers, and even participating in startup accelerator programs.
- Startup founders aiming for permanent residence in the U.S. have various visa options to explore, such as the EB-1A, EB-1C, and EB-2 NIW visas. These visas offer pathways to obtaining permanent residency based on exceptional abilities, multinational executive or managerial roles, or national interest waiver.
Legal Launch™
After years of working with startup founders, executives, and HR teams, we have found that there is a lack of resources for busy, on-the-go professionals. Some individuals already qualify for the visa of their choice but are unsure of how to proceed with the immigration process. Other professionals are starting from scratch, brainstorming the options available to successfully immigrate to the United States. To help streamline the process, we created Legal Launch™ with Alcorn, a four-week assessment program designed to take founders and startup teams to the swiftest immigration pathways, mitigating challenges and risks along the way.
How to Choose the Best Immigration Attorney for Company Founders?
When it comes to launching and scaling a startup, no one can do it all alone. Success in the startup arena is a collaborative effort, and this includes stacking your team with others who have fresh ideas and highly specialized skills to take your operation to the next level. Your immigration attorney is a key part of this team. As you enter into discussions with immigration attorneys for founders, it can be helpful to consider the following:
- Do they understand your core values and long-term vision?
- Are they responsive and answer your questions in a timely manner?
- Do they have experience working with business- and tech-minded entrepreneurs?
- What is their record of success?
- Do they create solutions based on your goals and walk you through the right strategy to get there?
The Alcorn Method
Alcorn Immigration Law was founded by Sophie Alcorn, a Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law by the State Bar of California, former TechCrunch contributor, and best-selling author. We have our roots as a startup, providing us with first-hand experience navigating the scale-up journey. We employ The Alcorn Method when working with startups:
- Review the founder’s goals and vision to strategize the right solution for immigration success.
- Compile all key documentation, and prepare the strongest case possible to optimize our clients’ chance of approval.
- Organize, and file all documentation according to the strict requirements of the USCIS or State Department.
- Celebrate with our clients after winning their cases. We are proud to have helped thousands of other companies successfully secure work visas, but our work does not stop there. We foster long-term relationships with the companies we collaborate with even after obtaining a successful outcome.
Immigration Resources for Startups
Having been voted the top law firm in California for tech startups, we take pride in our work. Reflecting our commitment to excellence, we offer a vast range of immigration resources for startups:
- Ask Sophie™ as seen in TechCrunch
- The Sophie Alcorn Podcast
- Order the Book
- Register for Events
- Alcorn Academy
- Legal Launch
Accomplish, Together
With our deep understanding of the deep complexities of the immigration system for startups and their founding team members, we offer guidance through every phase of the immigration process. At Alcorn Immigration Law, we are passionate about helping individuals achieve their dreams of living and working in the United States. Above all, your approval is our focus. To connect with our team of seasoned immigration attorneys for startups in San Diego, CA, contact Alcorn Immigration Law at +1(855) 546-0015 today.
