rgg14

Hello sages of the Internet, again.
Last May I started the process of exploring a business opportunity in the US. Being the careful sort I found and paid for some advice and an immigration lawyer I was comfortable with, they advised the E2 as the best route, over my objection that this didn't lead to a green card, they feel that it can if approached properly, however this is largely irrelevant at this time.
As we are starting a service based business where we bring in specialist equipment and lease it to companies and had no track record in the US I decided to visit several times on the ESTA and see what developed before I plunked down my investment. This has gone well to the point that during my next planned visit in January till March I will likely sign 3-4 significant supply contracts, which also involve training on the machinery and maintenance of the same.
I have till this time formed the company as an LLC in Delaware, rented an office in Dallas and arranged a business bank account through a local bank. The signed contracts will obviously be useful in proving the viability and non-marginality of my business and I can show in the business pan at which point US citizens will be employed etc.
Now the question/dilemma- These contracts involve several points of payment to us- firstly an industry exclusivity fee, 50% of which is paid on signing. Secondly a monthly lease fee for the machines and finally in some cases a fixed fee per use (this is for where we have developed a significant process jump or where we wave the upfront fee) My question is where can I earn this money till such time as my E2 is in place? I would like to have the contracts paid direct in the US bank account, this builds a history and veracity of business in my mind, but is this against the E2 rules? From there I have a UK business which I could bill the US and essentially receive the money legally. The important thing is not to compromise the E2 process, I have been advised that this may take 2-3 months from now, and I don't want to jeopordize these contracts which are the cornerstone of my emerging business by stalling because I can't accpet money for them.
It is important to point out that while I will have signed the contracts, I will not be actually installing or operating anything in the US. We supply and train, there is no billed item for the trainingit is part of the lease. Any installation is or can be paid for outside the US in the meantime.
Finally can my US entity recieve these monies and pay operating expenses of the business such as the ongoing office rent, transport cost, trainers accomodation and per diem including my own so long as we don't pay actual salries for work done in the US?
If you read through all that thanks, I appreciate any help I can get, and please don't just tell me to speak to another lawyer, I will do that in the New Year when I'm back in the Uk but I wanted a quick and dirty opinion if it'savailable.

ian-mstm

Best to check with your attorney on this, but I don't believe you are allowed to sign contracts while you're a visitor to the US and don't yet have permission to work in the US on behalf of your company. Hopefully, someone else will clarify this.

Ian

rgg14

I will ask the lawyer, however as with most things US visa related the information out there seems to be rather contradictory. For example, I found a fact sheet from the State department regarding business visitors that says you are allowed to negotiate and sign contracts for goods and services provided from outside the US, you were also allowed to provide training and some installation supervision so longs as you don't get paid for that in the US. We can I suppose run these contracts from outside and swap them upon visa completion, but it seems to me that the ultimate way to prove your new business will suceed would be to have these things in hand before you start!

ian-mstm

You'll want to ensure that when you enter the US, your passport is stamped WB and not WT. You can't do business on the latter, but you can on the former.

Ian

S Folinsky

FWIW, in a past life I represented some changes of status where person was admitted as a "B-2" when "B-1" would have been proper. The minions of the Dark Forces accepted an argument that "a B is a B is a B" especially when no questions were asked at the airport and the person has a "B-1/B-2" visa.

scrubbedexpat099

E2 is going to give you the OK to work in the US.

You can have a business,employ locals etc with out an E2.

Pulaski

Where you receive the payments is largely irrelevant. You could pay them into a business account in the US, the UK, Switzerland, or Singapore, but it has no relevance to the legality of the work you perform, which is a question of where you perform it, and if in the US, whether you had an appropriate visa to perform it.